Hocken Digital Collections

University of Otago : Records of Registry and Central Administration

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Reference NumberARC-0018CreatorUniversity of Otago DescriptionThe collection includes Council minutes, Professorial Board and Senate minutes and reports, minutes and reports of various faculties and committees, letterbooks and correspondence files, 'General' (subject) files, annual reports, staff handbooks and directories, staff appointment files, newspaper clipping books, academic transcripts, student registers and enrolment records, examination results, other examination records, financial records, building records, scholarship records, anniversary records, calendars, newsletters, graduation booklets, other publications, plans, photographs, and other records.
Only a small part of this collection is digitised and available through Digital Collections. Information about other items can be found on the Hākena catalogue, through the Library Catalogues link above.History / BiographyThe University of Otago, New Zealand's oldest university, was founded in 1869 by an ordinance of the Otago Provincial Council.
It was given the power of granting degrees in Arts, Medicine, Law and Music, and received as an endowment 100,000 acres of pastoral land. It opened in July 1871 with a staff of three professors: Classics and English Language and Literature, Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, and Mental and Moral Philosophy (including political economy). A Professor of Natural Science entered upon his duties in 1872. A further endowment conferred in 1872 made it possible to extend teaching activities: lectures in Law began in 1873, Medical classes were inaugurated in 1875, and new lectureships were established. Lectures in Mining had been started in 1872, and in 1878 the School of Mines (known latterly as the Department of Mineral Technology and transferred to the University of Auckland in 1987) was formally established by the appointment of a director.
The university was originally housed in a building (later the Stock Exchange) on the site of John Wickliffe House, Princes Street, but moved to its present site with the completion of the northern sections of the Geology and Registry buildings in 1878 and 1879.
The School of Dentistry was founded in 1907 and the School of Home Science (later Consumer and Applied Sciences) in 1911. Teaching in accountancy and commerce subjects began in 1912. Various new chairs and lectureships were established in the years between the two world wars, and in 1946 teaching began in the Faculty of Theology. The School of Physical Education was opened in 1947.
The foundation of the university by provincial ordinance was followed by a statute of 1870 founding a University of New Zealand. This was intended to give the University of Otago 'colonial statute', by the governing body preferred to model it on the University of London as an examining university. When applications for a Royal Charter from both bodies had been refused, agreement was reached in 1874. Otago waived its claim to a charter, held in abeyance its power of granting degrees, and agreed to become an affiliated college of the University of New Zealand. Otago had at that time conferred just one Bachelor of Arts degree.
In 1961 the University of New Zealand was disestablished, and the power to confer degrees was restored to the University of Otago by the University of Otago Amendment Act 1961.
The Council is presided over by the Chancellor, while the Vice-Chancellor (whose position was created in 1946) is the academic and administrative head of the University and convenor of the Senate, which advises and reports to the Council on academic matters.
In 1989 the internal governance of the university was reformed by grouping the existing departments, faculties, and schools into four academic divisions (Commerce, Health Sciences, Humanities, and Sciences) each headed by an Assistant Vice-Chancellor, and creating a division of Academic Services (since disestablished), headed by the Registrar. There were further changes made to the senior management structure in 1994 resulting in the appointment of a Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and a Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and International).
(From the University of Otago Calendar for 1997, pp.91-92)

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University of Otago Archway

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SubjectsUniversities and colleges

CollectionUniversity of Otago

Digital Collections

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University of Otago : Records of Registry and Central Administration

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