University of Waikato honours former Vice-Chancellor

University of Waikato honours former Vice-Chancellor

The man who headed the University of Waikato for a decade until the end of 2014 is being awarded an honorary doctorate by the university.

During his tenure as Vice-Chancellor, Emeritus Professor Roy Crawford led some major key stakeholder initiatives at the university.

He led the evolution of a strategic partnership with Bay of Plenty polytechnics, in Tauranga, Rotorua and Whakatane, and guided the early planning for the new campus development in Tauranga, which included securing $30 million of community funding from Bay of Plenty sources.

On campus, Emeritus Professor Crawford oversaw almost $100 million of building projects, including the refurbishment of the campus shops, the Student Centre, the Environmental Research Centre, the Maharaia building in Tauranga and most recently, the new Law and Management building on the Hamilton campus.

“It was a great privilege to serve as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waikato during an important period of its growth,” he says. “I regard the award of an Honorary Doctorate as a great honour which I am delighted to accept.”

Irish-born, Emeritus Professor Crawford turned down a promising football career to become an academic, completing a BSc, PhD and, a short time later, a DSc at Queen’s University Belfast. His research focus was mechanical and process engineering; his speciality was polymers, and moulded plastics in particular. His research has resulted in a number of patented techniques for recording temperatures during the moulding process and improving the quality of moulded parts.

Emeritus Professor Crawford travelled the world to give lectures on his specialist subject and served on numerous committees and associations linked to the plastics industry. He received more than a dozen international prizes and awards for his research.

He played a key role in focusing the University of Waikato on an excellence agenda and the university rose in international rankings on Emeritus Professor Crawford’s watch. He also increased alumni outreach and support, hosting numerous alumni events all over the world.

The honorary doctorate will be conferred on Emeritus Professor Crawford at a graduation ceremony at the Claudelands Arena on Tuesday 19 April.

ENDS

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