May 18: Te Whare Wananga Awanuiarangi

Our last institution of the 3 day marathon. I’ll be honest, it’s a lot of information to get all at once, and I have to work hard to make sure I’m not blending my days together (especially because we have been staying at different hostels every night).



Te Whare Wananga Awanuiarangi was going through a lot of construction so we were not able to see the new marae they were building for the institution (which I would assume will be beautiful). Our powhiri was very similar in nature to the on that we went through at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, minus being in the marae (the building was still very welcoming and beautiful). The “hongi” wasn’t much easier, but it definitely felt much less awkward than the hongi yesterday.

Te Whare Wananga Awanuiarangi is a 20 year-old institution that is extremely Maori centered and they pride themselves in that. It is only of 3 Wanangas in all of New Zealand and is rebranded as the “indigenous university”. There is a focus on not just academic excellence AND world knowledge excellence (it is important to knot lose the cultural factors, something that is done at some institutions).

Red Revolution of 1980s
The red revolution was basically a “thinking shift” in the Maori that changed from being reactive to proactive. Basically, they took responsibility to make change rather than waiting for permission (which obviously made all the difference), which involves a lot of self-determination.
I felt the “red Revolution” was important to note because it was not something that has been talked about yet, but it is what happened to create the attitude shift toward the Maori and the importance of their culture.

I’ll be honest, the presentation style of this institution was extremely dense and informative.We received a lot of information in a short period of time, from a lot of different people. Being the 3rd institution in a row, was probably not the best for my attention span, but my hand was definitely sore by the end of the day because of all the notes I took.

Graham Smith, the first speaker of the day talked a lot about transformation versus transforming, which was an interesting concept, especially after taking the Issues in Higher Education class this fall (large focus on change theory). Basically Graham explained that transformation is a utopian concept, but rather “transforming” is what our focus should be on, not the END RESULT of transformation.
This was something that I always thought about transformation, and Graham put more light on that idea: I believe transformation may not look like transformation while it’s occurring… but rather over time, looking back, we can they say that this “change” of sorts was a transformation (like when a caterpillar is in a cocoon…or a baby growing up. If we compare a picture of a baby to an adult we can say “wow, what a transformation”… but at the time it seems like such small incremental steps that lead us there… I think that’s the point Graham was trying to making about transforming and transformation, and how institutions need to look at small changes… they may seem small a first, but they may lead to transformation.

I found that, like at Bay of Plenty Polytehcnic, I felt a sort of anger at Auckland and how economically privileged they are compared to Awanuiarangi and Bay of Plenty Polytechinic. Awanuiarangi provides a very rich experience and education, but the funding is so little compared to Auckland; it’s just not fair.

Another phrase that was said during the day was

“Thou shall not can’t”

 I LOVE THAT. I think it’s such a good phrase, and it doesn’t surprise me that an institution with a high “minority” population is an institution that uses such a phrase. Why do I say this? Because institutions that are privileged in many ways (thought they have that problem) would never admit it (Ahem… Auckland).
I also liked when they said that “technology is a supporting tool but it can never take over the face to face”. I really hope that the United States has that memo, because I worry that’s going to happen with all advising (not a good idea, RETENTION PEOPLE).

Overall I found that Awanuiarangi was very research based in their application and implementation of services, but also in their way of presenting. This was the first institution we have visited that used citations in their powerpoints and gave us a reference page at the end of their presentation. It is obvious that they know their work very well, and have probably had to defend their programs and implementations (perhaps) more than other institutions have to because of the Maori population (this is just an assumption).

I didn’t feel like I got a good idea of what it’s like to be a student here, nor what it’s like to be an employee of the institution. I feel I got a rich history, overview and explanation of WHY they do the things they do (which was great), but as a student affairs professional, I would have liked to meet students and gotten their perspective, or seen the professionals in action. I think they have a strong grasp on how to reach our to their student population, and it would have been great to see that happen while we were there (because I know it would have been impressive and a great experience).

After being at the Awanuiarangi we got to visit a computer-lab-kids-space that is there for the public to use for free, and had workshops for children in getting experience with technology. We even had the opportunity to watch a video created by one of the children that went there. It was a great space and a wonderful opportunity for the children of the area.

Lastly we went up to a gorgeous view (see pictures), and were told this really long and descriptive story about the area (that was nearly impossible to remember but wonderful.

We then drove to Rotorua and I tried Indian food for the first time. YUM! I was surprised how not busy the area was for a Friday night. Lastly, we enjoyed the evening and headed t bed before our trip to Te Puia and Wellington.