2011 Distinguished Alumni Awards Recipients

Rt Hon Sir Peter Blanchard KNZM, LLB 1966, LLM 1968, LLM Harv. 1969

Rt Hon Sir Peter Blanchard has been a judge of the Supreme Court, New Zealand’s final court of appeal, since 2004. He was a partner in Auckland law firm Simpson Grierson and director of several listed companies until his appointment to the High Court in 1992, and then to the Court of Appeal in 1996. He was a member of the Law Commission from 1990 to 1994, and was appointed a Privy Councillor in 1998.

Dr Greg Brick BSc 1974, MBChB 1977, FRACS

Dr Greg Brick is Senior Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School. He has been cited in “Top Doctors in America” and “America’s Top Doctors” for many years and has been listed in Boston Magazine as one of Boston’s best Orthopaedic Surgeons. In 2004 Greg and his wife, Jane, established the Brick Family Scholarship to provide annually a full tuition scholarship for an undergraduate at The University of Auckland School of Medicine.

Tony Falkenstein ONZM, BCom 1971

Tony Falkenstein has worked as an entrepreneur with multinationals and public companies, and owns the majority share in publicly listed Just Water International Limited, as well as privatelyowned Bartercard New Zealand Limited. He has a strong interest in entrepreneurship and business education and was the founder of the Onehunga High Business School and the Onehunga High Building and Construction School. He is a strong supporter of The University of Auckland Business School and an advocate for SPARK, The Icehouse and other entrepreneurial initiatives.

Jeanette Fitzsimons CNZM, BA 1965, DipTchg

Jeanette Fitzsimons was the co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 1995 to 2009 and a member of Parliament from 1996 to 2010. She has contributed widely to public awareness and understanding of genetic engineering, climate change, sustainability, and energy, and continues to be active on environmental issues. Jeanette was a lecturer in The University of Auckland’s Department of Planning, jointly running the Environmental Studies paper and developing a new course in Energy Studies for Planners.

Hon Mike Rann CNZM, BA 1974, MA 1976

Hon Mike Rann became South Australia’s 44th Premier after the State election in March 2002 and was re-elected with an increased majority in March 2006. In March 2010 the Rann Labor Government was elected for a third term. Mike is also Minister for Economic Development, Social Inclusion, the Arts, Sustainability and Climate Change. In 2009 he was made a Companion of the New Zealand order of Merit for services to Australia-New Zealand relations.

2011 Young Alumna of the Year: Dr Claire French BSc Otago 2002, PGDipForensic 2005, PhD 2009

Dr Claire French was the Supreme Winner and “Science in our Society” Category Winner in the 2006 MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year Awards for developing a new cell identification technique that could help to solve sex crimes. She was also Overall Winner in The University of Auckland’s Chiasma I-volve Entrepreneurial Challenge with this research in 2007. Claire currently works as a Patent Executive at AJ Park Patent Attorneys, Auckland, advising clients within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

 

Source: http://www.alumni.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/alumni/af-alumni-profiles/af-distinguished-alumni/2011-distinguished-alumni-awards-recepients#s2c3