Celebrating Janine

We had a lovely evening last week celebrating the inaugural Professorial lecture of Professor Janine Wiles. Janine has been a member of Te Ārai since the beginning and plays a crucial role in much of the research we do. In her lecture, Janine celebrated all the people who supported her on her journey, and we had the opportunity to celebrate her too! It was also wonderful that members of the Wharamate whānau could join us.

Some of our Te Ārai whānau supporting Janine with a waiata after her amazing Professorial inaugural lecture

Below is an extract from the speech that Merryn gave to introduce Janine:

The Dean has already mentioned how difficult it is to be appointed as a Professor at the University of Auckland. There are many high academic standards you have to achieve. And Janine has done all that and more. She is known internationally for her contributions to health geography and gerontology and her work has been cited over ten thousand times. Her expertise in qualitative research is second to none. She is a dedicated, skilled and compassionate teacher. She has supervised more than 40 research students to completion, supporting them to publish their work along the way, as she supports everyone that she works with.

And this is the point I wish to finish on. By acknowledging the dedication, kindness and selflessness with which Janine approaches everything she does. It is a testament to these values that people from so many aspects of her life are present today. Janine is the most generous, caring and conscientious of academics. The care she takes with her research participants, her students and her colleagues is unparalleled. Anything we’ve achieved in Te Ārai we couldn’t have done without her and we all have the utmost respect and aroha for her. And I know that is true for the many other colleagues and students Janine has supported over the years. I know Janine is a very humble person and doesn’t like the limelight. Like the proverbial kumara, she never speaks of her own sweetness. So it is lovely to have this opportunity tonight to celebrate her and all those who have supported her along the way.