Nearly 1400 students graduating from Canterbury University

Nearly 1400 students graduating from University of Canterbury this week

December 17, 2014

More than 1400 students will graduate from the University of Canterbury this week.

The ceremonies will be held tomorrow (Wednesday) and Friday with 1376 graduands receiving their degrees, diplomas and certificates in person. Eighty-three students from UC’s College of Education graduated at a ceremony in Rotorua last week.

Christchurch retailer, Richard Ballantyne, who is a graduate of the University of Canterbury, will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Commerce at tomorrow’s graduation ceremony.

Ballantyne has worked in J Ballantyne & Co Ltd, the Christchurch department store, owned by his family since 1872, for 45 years, having served as managing director for 16 years up until the time of the 2011 earthquake. He is currently chairman of the board.

He is a past president and life member of the New Zealand Retailers Association. He is a past board member and life member of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce. Ballantyne is a past president and life member of the New Zealand Retailers Association, a past-president (Canterbury Division) and Fellow of the Institute of Management, and a Fellow of the Society of Accountants.

Among the 67 University of Canterbury PhD students graduating this week is Genevieve Taylor who measured the effectiveness of reducing disaster risk among children, while Hong Wang completed his PhD thesis with a study of Chinese international students’ experience and the New Zealand knowledge economy.

Another PhD student Petria Thöresen studied the effects and ethics of interviewing children in care while Barbara Ray’s PhD studied the experiences of hearing siblings when there is a deaf child in the family. Her findings revealed that hearing siblings view their deaf sibling as typical and normal and it is only when they step outside the immediate family that hearing siblings develop an awareness of disability.

Murray Williams investigated decisions made by Canterbury Education Board architects in providing and maintaining school buildings for the Canterbury district last century, while Reuben Derrick
researched music, engaging the listener in creative contemplation of soundscapes.

The All Blacks rugby team vice-captain and current University of Canterbury sports coaching student Kieran Read paid tribute to the large numbers of students graduating this week.

``Graduating is a massive achievement. It’s probably only the start of life, so students can enjoy the special moment this week. Good luck to all those people graduating. I love Canterbury, the region, and certainly the University’s helped me out. It’s an awesome place to be at, study and enjoy life.

``The campus is great for students so I think it’s awesome to get a lot of people back here down to Christchurch. It’s all about having a good time here in Canterbury,’’ Read says. View his comments on video about Canterbury here: http://youtu.be/670J4tONScw.

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