27 July 2011 Welcome to Open Day 2011

A warm personal welcome to you on your visit to Lincoln University for Open Day. Thank you for coming - it could be a turning point in your life, or the life of the family member or friend you are accompanying. We certainly hope so and we have many great stories of academic achievement and career success that began with an Open Day visit.

As Vice-Chancellor it is my pleasure to welcome you formally, but I am not the only one who will be greeting you today. Our academic staff, support staff, student recruitment staff and our greatest asset - our students - will be interacting with you throughout your visit.  Among the students our Future Leader Scholars will be welcoming you for tours of the campus and the halls of residence. You will enjoy their company. They are a great group and their families can be rightly proud of them.

I always feel that the idea of universities as centres of learning and hubs of knowledge needs to be more popularly matched by the point that they are first and foremost people places. Without a human element in the equation, learning and knowledge are barren.

At Lincoln University we strive to put a human face on everything we do and you will hear a lot of talk today about teaching for the "real world " , the "application" of knowledge and the importance of relevance. I am sure it will strike a note with you.

July is always a special time at Lincoln University. It is the "birthday" month of our opening as a School of Agriculture - now 131 years ago . Just as that "Opening Day" launched our success as New Zealand's specialist land - based university, we hope that Open Day 2011 launches equal success for you , a family member, or friend.

Enjoy the day, and enjoy meeting our people .

Roger J. Field
Vice-Chancellor
Lincoln University