Buildings:
- 1979 opening of Engineering block.
- 1979 Centennial Hall additions.
- 1985 NZ Agricultural Engineering Institute building opened. Now Lincoln Ventures Ltd.
- 1986 (August) start of conversion of Ivey Hall into Library.
- 1988 (October) new Ivey Hall library opens for use. Officially opened by Deputy Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, 24 February 1989.
- 1988 opening of Lysimeter Laboratory (underground soil science laboratory), the most extensive such facility in New Zealand at the time.
- 1990 (August) official opening of Stewart Building, named in honour of former Principal Sir James Stewart.
- 1994 Construction of Commerce Building.
- 1995 (September) opening of new Lincoln University Winery.
- 1995 (November) Southland Hall opened.
- 1996 NZ Cricket High Performance Centre established at Lincoln University, a commercial partnership between the University and New Zealand Cricket.
- 1999 (August) opening of Kowhai Farm, Lincoln University s 57-hectare, commercial scale organic demonstration farm, a collaboration with Heinz Wattie's Ltd.
- 2000 (August) work started on Cricket Pavilion at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval.
- 2001 (September) first milking at Lincoln University's new 183-hectare, state-of-the-art dairy farm.
- 2002 (November) announcement that a Centre for Research Excellence is to be established at Lincoln University. This will be the National Centre for Advanced Bio-Protection Technologies.
VIP Visitors:
- 1985 (May) Irish President, Dr Patrick Hillery.
- 1987 Colonel Michael Collins, lunar astronaut on first successful moon landing mission. (Private visit).
- 1991 (April) President of Turkey Mr Turgu Ozal.
- 1992 (March) Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. While on-campus she officially launches Lincoln's Transport Studies degree.
- 1992 (September) Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand, daughter of King Bhumibol.
- 1993 (September) President of Germany, Dr Richard von Weizacker.
- 1994 (November) Chairman of State Science & Technology Commission of Peoples Republic of China, Dr Song Jian.
- 1995 (July) Secretary-General Communist Party of Vietnam, Mr Do Muoi.
- 1995 Britain s Princess Royal, Princess Anne, visits Lincoln University's Transport Studies stand in Christchurch Town Hall during International Conference of Chartered Institute of Transport.
- 2001 (March) Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Dr Tony Tan.
Firsts:
- 1988 Lincoln established New Zealand's first chair in real estate studies, Dr John Baen appointed professor.
- 1989 (June) Lincoln College molecular biologists under Dr and Sami Damak and Professor of Biochemistry David Bullock produce New Zealand's first transgenic animal - that is, a species (in this case a mouse) carrying genetic material introduced by laboratory manipulation from another animal (a rabbit).
- 1991 (June) Lincoln University's transgenic team produce New Zealand's first genetically engineered sheep, a Coopworth lamb ("Alexander") carrying a marker enzyme introduced to test the efficacy and specificity of the gene-transfer procedure. Subsequently other lambs were produced with an extra gene to stimulate wool growth.
- 1994 (May) Lincoln signs agreement in Malaysia, in presence of NZ Prime Minister Jim Bolger, for the first teaching of a New Zealand university degree off-shore.
- 1995 (August) Lincoln is first New Zealand university to hold an international graduation ceremony. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- 1999 Lincoln's Dr David Simmons appointed New Zealand's first professor in tourism.
- 1999 Lincoln pioneers Sports Scholarships within the NZ university system.
- 2000 (February) Lincoln opens the first Foundation Studies programme designed in New Zealand expressly for New Zealand conditions.
- 2002 (November) Lincoln University awarded Government funding to establish a Centre of Research Excellence, the National Centre for Advanced Bio-Protection Technologies, the first CoRE in the South Island.
University status:
The 1987 NZ Universities Review Committee (Watts Committee) recommends that time is right for Lincoln College to become an autonomous but specialised university. University Grants Committee takes contrary view, but college's campaign for independence, led by Chancellor Sir Allan Wright and Principal Professor Bruce Ross, starts in earnest. The 1988 Report on Post-Compulsory Education and Training in New Zealand (Hawke Report) endorses autonomy for Lincoln and on 24 February 1989 Deputy Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer announces that the Government intends to recognise Lincoln as an autonomous but specialised university in its own right from 1990.
Enrolments:
- 1978, on eve of Lincoln College's centenary, enrolment figure was 1344.
- 1989 Lincoln's enrolments reached 2000 for first time.
- 1995 Lincoln's enrolments reached 4000 for first time.
Academic:
- 1979 start of Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme at Lincoln. Programme still going today. Numerous prominent rural sector leaders and top politicians are graduates of the programme, including former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley.
- 1986 Lincoln College leads the way among NZ tertiary institutions with start of a three-year trial of lecturer evaluation as a requirement for promotion. Trial introduced with approval of Association of University Teachers and the Lincoln College Council.
- 1988 Introduction of Bachelor of Parks, Recreation Management degree, replaces Diploma in Parks & Recreation Management.
- 1988 Introduction of Lincoln's Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree, replaces Diploma in Landscape Architecture.
- 1995 Introduction of Bachelor of Social Science degree.
- 1997 (December) Leadership appointments made to the new academic structure and organisation of Lincoln University which replaces the traditional department structure. Teaching and research now organised around three "schools" and six "divisions".
- 1999 Lincoln University's first woman professor appointed. Professor Alison Stewart becomes Professor in Plant Pathology.
- 2002 (November) Lincoln University biochemist Dr Jonathan Hickford named as New Zealand Science Communicator of the Year by NZ Association of Scientists.
- 2003 Two Lincoln University academics, Dr Pip Lynch and Dr Chris Gan won Government-backed Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards, two out of just 10 awards made nationally.
Miscellaneous:
Conferences:
Lincoln University has hosted several world conferences eg. 1995 the world conference of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements and in 1993 the World Deer Congress. In 2003 Lincoln University's Professional Development Group handled the organisation of the 8 th International Congress of Plant pathology in Christchurch.
Peace Talks:
1998 (January) Lincoln plays notable world-stage role as the venue for the final round of the Bougainville Peace Talks, which brought an end to the 10-year-long conflict between Papua-New Guinea and Bougainville. Leaders and representatives of all the nations involved were on-campus for the talks along with NZ's Foreign Minister Don McKinnon. Prime Minister Jenny Shipley attended the opening.
Miscellaneous:
- 1983 Principal Sir James Stewart retires.
- 1985 Professor Bruce Ross takes up appointment as Principal. Becomes first Vice-Chancellor on Lincoln being granted university status in 1990.
- 1987 Lincoln appoints Rev Maurice Gray to Centre for Resource Management. This becomes first step towards eventual establishment in 1991 of a Centre for Māori Studies and Research on the campus with Rev Gray as its first director.
- 1990 Lincoln University establishes EnviroSchool, a vacation school for secondary school students. Runs two-yearly. Sir Edmund Hillary accepts role of Patron. In 1996 EnviroSchool receives a Government "Green Ribbon" award for its contributions to environmental education.
- 1992 (February) Lincoln appoints its first Māori Liaison Officer, Amanda Heath, to work with the school liaison team.
- 1993 Sir Allan Wright, Lincoln University's first Chancellor retires.
- 1993 Graduation Ceremony, Lincoln University awards its first honorary degrees, to former Council Chairman Sid Hurst and Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Helen Hughes. As of the 2003 ceremony Lincoln has made 21 such awards.
- 1994 (November) distinguished former student Captain Charles Upham VC & Bar dies.
- 1994 (October) Lincoln University wins a Tradenz Export Award as runner-up in the "Exporter of Services" category of the 1994 New Zealand Export Awards. Lincoln's award was based on the significant export earnings generated by its international activities.
- 1996 (August) Professor Ross leaves to become Director-General of Agriculture.
- 1997 (March) Dr Frank Wood starts as Vice-Chancellor.
- 1997 (August) death of Lincoln University's first Kaumatua, Dr Wahawaha Stirling.
- 1999 Lincoln University receives Trade Development Board export commendation for its revenue-earning international activities (more than $13 million in 1998).
For further information contact
Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury
Tel: (03) 3252811 ext 8549. Email: Ian Collins