Trailblazing women at Massey

Women have been an integral part of life at Massey University from the beginning. This exhibition highlights a few women who were trailblazers at Massey. If you would like other trailblazing Massey women added here, please let us have the details.

The first woman lecturer at Massey Agricultural College, appointed in 1928, was Agnes Crawford from Scotland. She was an assistant lecturer in dairying and 'fancy cheese making'. The next was botanist, Ella Campbell, with a masterate from the University of Otago, who was needed to support the courses in horticulture. She was appointed in during the World War II and played an active role in the social life of the College, including starting and coaching women's hockey.  

The first woman to enroll as a student at Massey Agricultural College was Enid Hills (nee Christian) who commenced a Certificate in Poultry Farming course in January 1932. Our first degree student was Elsie Thorpe (later called Paddy Bassett), who enrolled in 1938 for a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree. She graduated in 1941.

During the World War II years the Agricultural College experienced an influx of women students. To cope with the demand for housing of female students on campus, the College bought Craiglockhart in February 1944 to serve as a much-needed women's residence - Massey's first residence for women. The house was soon renamed Moginie House in honour of Mrs M.N. Moginie who had bequeathed money to Massey for women's education. 

Also in 1944, the first woman, M.R. Norris, was elected to the executive of the Massey Agricultural College Students' Association. Thirty-five years later, in 1979, Felicité Jardine was the first woman to be elected to serve as president of the Massey University Student's Association.

Changing social attitudes to women's education, attracted more and more female students over the years. By 1978, roughly half the enrolled students at Massey University were female, and since then women have consistently been in the majority. In 2012 65% of distance students, and 58% of internal students, were female.

Gender equity in senior positions at the University has slowly improved over the last decades. The first woman on the University Council was Margaret Keeling, who was appointed in 1977.

The first Māori woman academic to be appointed by the university was Ephra Garrett, who was appointed as junior lecturer in the Department of Education in 1968. Massey University appointed its first woman professor in 1985 - Rae Weston, in Banking.  Later that same year, Glynnis Cropp and Nan Kinross were the next women to be made professors, on the same day. Cropp joined the staff as a lecturer in French in 1963, becoming Professor and Head of the Department of Modern Languages in 1985, and was Dean of the former Faculty of Humanities from 1987 to 1997 - the first woman Dean at the University. In 2001, Professor Arohia Durie was appointed as the first Professor of Māori Education.

Our first woman Chancellor was Morva Croxson who held office from 1 January 1998, and the first woman Pro-Chancellor Winifred Rockell was appointed in 1991. The University's first woman Vice-Chancellor (also the first in New Zealand) was Professor Judith Kinnear, who assumed office in 2003.