16th December 2019
The Tertiary Education Union | Te Hautū Kahurangi has appointed a new National Secretary for the Union. National
President Michael Gilchrist said today “I am pleased to announce that Dr Sandra Grey has accepted the position of
National Secretary for the TEU starting in April 2020”.
“The TEU Council and I are delighted to see Sandra step into this role. Sandra is a proven change-maker for our union
and in the tertiary education sector. She has been an outstanding leader as a union member serving as National President
for three terms and she has continued to build her experience and knowledge of the sector since becoming a staff
member”.
He went on to say that Sandra is also currently a member of the NZIST Establishment Board where her voice is significant
in shaping the future of vocational education in this country. “We believe Sandra is ideally placed to lead the union
into the next decade” Gilchrist said.
Sandra will take up the role when current National Secretary Sharn Riggs retires at the end of March next year. Sharn is
finishing an over 30 year career as a union official which has included leading ASTE Te Hau Takitini into the merger
with AUS to form TEU in 1990. She was the inaugural national secretary of the union.
‘It will be a huge change for our union to be without our guiding spirit of so many years, and there will be a great
sense of loss’, Mr Gilchrist said. ‘We thank Sharn for her outstanding work and leadership she has provided – and we
extend our warmest congratulations to Sandra on her appointment and look forward to working with her in her new role.’
ends