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public university in New Zealand
- 1897
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public university in New Zealand
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Victoria University of Wellington (Māori: Te Herenga Waka; VUW or Vic) is a public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by an act of the New Zealand Parliament, and was originally a constituent college of the University of New Zealand until the dissolution of that institution in 1961.
Victoria University had the highest average research grade in the New Zealand Government's Performance Based Research Fund exercise in both 2012 and 2018, having been ranked 4th in 2006 and 3rd in 2003.
Victoria University of Wellington (originally known as Victoria College or Victoria University College) was founded in 1897, named after Queen Victoria, on the 60th anniversary of her coronation. Following the dissolution of the University of New Zealand in 1961, it became Victoria University of Wellington and began conferring its own degrees.
In 1868, the colonial government of New Zealand passed the University Endowment Act 1868, which established scholarship programmes for study in Great Britain, in addition to setting aside a land endowment in the burgeoning colony. The following year, with wealth generated from the Otago gold rush in addition to a strong foundation of the Scottish Enlightenment, the provincial government of Otago laid the groundwork to establish the University of Otago. This was followed by the creation of Canterbury College, associated with the newly formed University of New Zealand.
In 1878, a royal commission was appointed to review the state of higher education in the country. It recommended the establishment of a federal system of four university colleges: two to be established in Auckland and Wellington, as well as the integration of the University of Otago and Canterbury College. The colonial government moved to provide sites, statutory grants and land endowments. This was somewhat delayed after the state of recession caused by the collapse of the City of Glasgow Bank in the same year, leading to a contraction in credit from Great Britain, and specifically London, the centre of global finance at the time. Nevertheless, in 1882, parliament passed the Auckland University College Act in 1882.
The growth of the population of Wellington and gradual improvement of the economy in the late 1880s were key factors in the final establishment of Victoria University College. A prominent advocate of its creation was Robert Stout, Premier of New Zealand and later Chief Justice, and a member of the university senate. In June 1886, as Minister of Education, Stout signalled the government's intention to introduce a bill to establish a centre for higher learning in Wellington, which was the centre of the colonial government. Stout cited the opportunity for the college to be able to particularly specialise in law, political science, and history.
Stout further suggested that the staff of the New Zealand Colonial Museum could provide services in the fields of geology and natural history. This was indicated in the Wellington University College Bill of 1887, which meant the effective annexation of the museum. Colonial Museum director James Hector, however, voiced considerable opposition to this bill. After a lengthy debate in parliament, this bill was defeated.
In 1897, the premier, Richard Seddon, who had previously been unsupportive of the university project, returned from Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Great Britain with an honorary law degree from the University of Cambridge. Seddon decided that the establishment of a college in Wellington would be a suitable way to mark the Queen's jubilee year.
When introducing the Victoria College Bill in December 1897, Seddon stated, "I do not think there will be any question as to the necessity for the establishment of a University College here in Wellington".
The college was to be governed by a 16-man council, with its inaugural meeting taking place on 23 May 1898.
The founding professors of Victoria College were:
While Victoria College had been legally founded with a grant, a council and a number of students, it had no physical property for the first decade of its existence. Early courses were held at Wellington Girls' High School and the Technical School building on Victoria Street.
The professors set about creating a unique identity for the college. The motto "Sapientia magis auro desideranda" was adopted in 1902. In 1903, the college adopted a badge and coat of arms featuring three crowns, the stars of the Southern Cross and the crest of its namesake Wellington. It was at this time that the colours of the college were chosen; dark green and gold, taking inspiration of the colours of the nearby gorse-covered Tinakori Hill.
In 1903 the council intended to establish a professorship in law, 'with a desire of making the Law School at Wellington the most complete in the Colony', as soon as financially possible. The college appointed a fifth professor, in modern languages – selecting the Oxford-educated Anglo-German George von Zedlitz, who was joined by newly appointed New Zealand-educated biology professor Harry Borrer Kirk.
The newly appointed council in 1889 had considered the use of the 13-acre Alexandra Barracks site for a permanent campus. The site was widely supported in Wellington, but release of the land for academic purposes was stalled by the Seddon Government. In February 1901, an offer was made by a wealthy Wairarapa sheep farmer named Charles Pharazyn. Pharazyn offered to donate £1,000 if the college was built on a 6-acre plot of hilly land in Kelburn.
Construction began in 1902 with the regrading of the hillside. Construction of a main building followed shortly after, designed by local architects F. Penty and E. M. Blake in the Gothic Revival style. The then-governor of New Zealand, Lord Plunket, laid the foundation stone on 27 August 1904.
Although it opened on 30 March 1906, the building was not completed to its original design, but was progressively added to as the college grew. In the meantime, students had built tennis courts, and a wooden gymnasium and social hall were constructed. The main building was named after Thomas Hunter, a professor of mental science and political economy. Following the end of World War I, north and south wings were added to the building, providing new teaching areas, recreational spaces, and a new library.
An extramural branch was founded at Palmerston North in 1960. It merged with Massey College on 1 January 1963. Having become a branch of Victoria upon the University of New Zealand's 1961 demise, the merged college became Massey University on 1 January 1964.
Victoria University has expanded beyond its original campus in Kelburn, with campuses in Te Aro (Faculty of Architecture and Design), and Pipitea (opposite Parliament, housing the Faculty of Law and Victoria Business School). Victoria also hosts the Ferrier Research Institute and the Robinson Research Institute in Lower Hutt, the Coastal Ecology Laboratory in Island Bay and the Miramar Creative Centre, in Park Road, Miramar.
In 2015, Victoria opened a new campus in Auckland to service growing demand for its courses and expertise.
In May 2018 it was reported that Victoria was exploring options to simplify its name to the University of Wellington. Vice-chancellor Grant Guillford said the university was pursuing a name change in order to reduce confusion overseas, as several other universities also carried the "Victoria" name. On 27 July 2018, the Victoria University of Wellington Council agreed in principle to the name change, as well as replacing the former Māori name Te Whare Wānanga o Te Upoko o Te Ika a Maui with Te Herenga Waka, the name of the university's marae. Of 2,000 public submissions on the name-change proposal, 75% strongly opposed it. Alumni and students strongly opposed the name change, staff gave mixed feedback, while Wellington's regional mayors and members of the university's advisory board favoured the name change.
On 24 September 2018, Victoria University's council voted by a majority of nine to two to change the university's name to the University of Wellington. The council also voted to adopt the new Māori name Te Herenga Waka. The university's vice-chancellor Grant Guilford abstained from the vote, citing a conflict of interest. Critics such as Victoria University law professor Geoff McLay criticised the name change for erasing 120 years of history. In contrast, Chancellor Neil Paviour-Smith defended the outcome of the vote as "one decision in a much broader strategy to try and help the university really achieve its potential". The council would submit its recommendation to the Minister of Education to make the final decision.
On 18 December 2018, the minister for education, Chris Hipkins, announced that he had rejected the University Council's recommendation, stating that the proposed change did not have sufficient support from Victoria's staff, students or alumni, and that such a change would not be in keeping with institutional accountability or be in the national interest. On 6 May 2019 Victoria University's council announced that it would not contest the Education Minister's decision to reject its name-change proposal. The name change had received exceptionally strong opposition from faculty, alumni, students, and Wellington City Council.
The university has, in recent years, distanced itself from the word Victoria, with many promotional materials referring solely to "Wellington's University". Many departments and initiatives have also been rebranded; for example, Victoria Professional and Executive Development becoming Wellington Uni-Professional. In January 2021, the university spent $69,000 on a new sign highlighting the word Wellington, which drew criticism from students and staff who said the funds could have been better spent elsewhere.
In May 2023, vice-chancellor Nic Smith confirmed that Victoria University was facing a NZ$33 million deficit due to declining student enrolments and a shortfall in government funding. The number of enrolments in 2023 dropped by 12.1% compared to 2022, accounting for 2,600 fewer students. In addition, the number of full-time students declined from 17,000 in 2022 to 14,700 in 2023. To address this deficit, Smith proposed laying off between 230 and 260 staff members including 100 academics and 150 professional staff. On 27 June 2023, the New Zealand Government announced a NZ$128 million funding injection for New Zealand universities' degree and postgraduate-level programmes that would come into effect from 2024. In response to the announcement, Victoria University Tertiary Education Union branch president Dougal McNeill called on the university to shelve its planned staff cuts. Vice-chancellor Smith said that the funding injection would allow the university to save about a third of the 229 planned job cuts.
In October 2023, Victoria University issued a request for proposal to sell 24 properties, worth about $16 million, to recover its deficit. Of these properties, 11 were student flats, three of which were unoccupied.
Victoria University of Wellington has three campuses spread out over Wellington city. It also has premises in Auckland.
The main campus is in the suburb of Kelburn, overlooking the Wellington Central business district, where the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences, Science, Engineering, Education and Health are based. Additionally, it is the location of the university's central library and the site of its administrative offices. The campus has a range of amenities including cafés, a pharmacy and health services, childcare facilities, and a sports and recreation centre. The university book store VicBooks closed in 2023 after trading for 48 years. The Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association is based in Kelburn.
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