Women at Massey : female academic staff, 1963-1988 : a research exercise presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of B.A. (Honours) in History at Massey University

Abstract

Massey University has a relatively short history. What is the Turitea campus now was, from 1927, the "Massey Agricultural College". It offered, as the name suggests, a curriculum of agricultural and horticultural courses. Also in Palmerston North from 1960 was a branch of Victoria University, Palmerston North University College (PNUC), offering internal and extramural courses. After the dissolution of the University of New Zealand at the end of 1961 and in response to growing demand for university places, Massey Agricultural College and PNUC merged as from 1 January 1963. The move was reflected in the Massey University of Manawatu Act, 1963, granting autonomy and degree-conferring powers to the fledgling institution from 1 January 1964. From four faculties - Agricultural and Horticultural Science, Food Technology, Veterinary Science and General Studies - it grew to eight faculties with over 20,000 students and 700 staff by 1988. The purpose of this research exercise is to attempt an historical examination of the role that female academic staff played in that growth. Part of this examination will involve an outline of statistical and official sources and part will be of a more personal nature, drawing on interviews with some of the staff who have taught at Massey over the years. The period 1963-88 has been chosen because it was the first 25 years of Massey as a University. The decision to focus on Massey's women academics has two main aims: first, to highlight the experience and achievements of a group of staff and a part of our history that may otherwise go unrecorded and second, to promote understanding of the status of academic women at Massey specifically and in the New Zealand tertiary education sector in general.--From Introduction