Lincoln University’s first Vice-Chancellor, Emeritus Professor Bruce Ross, has been given the highest honour of the New Zealand Association of Economists, a Distinguished Fellowship.
The award was made at the association’s annual conference in Christchurch and it recognises Professor Ross’ many distinguished contributions over a long career as a research economist, policy advisor and chief executive.
A Master of Agricultural Science graduate with first class honours in economic theory, Bruce had a meteoric early career. It began in 1963 with lecturing in agricultural economics and farm management at the University of Malaya, then moved back to Lincoln in 1966 and a period at the Agricultural Economics Research Unit as a research economist. In 1970 it was on to Lincoln's Department of Agricultural Economics and a senior lectureship, then later that year, appointment to the chair of agricultural economics. At the age of 31 he was the College's youngest professor. In taking up this post he succeeded the foundation professor, the legendary Bryan Philpott, who had been his masters supervisor.
As an assistant to Philpott, Bruce Ross had contributed work that featured prominently at New Zealand’s first major economic planning summit of modern times, the National Development Conference of 1968. Lincoln’s contributions to that conference (notably the “Lincoln model”) stamped the College for the first time as a national source of economic expertise in modern public affairs.
In 1983 Bruce Ross went to Paris for two years to head the Trade Analysis Division of the Agricultural Directorate of the OECD.
Back at Lincoln in 1985 he took up the reins of his earlier appointment as College Principal, and in the following years he guided the institution to autonomy as a fully fledged university. That was achieved in 1990 and he became Lincoln’s first Vice-Chancellor. He served in that role through to August 1996 when he was appointed Director-General of Agriculture and Forestry, a post he held for five years until retirement in May 2001.
He has continued to be involved in public life since his retirement and has served on important national committees such as the New Zealand Dairy Core Database Access Panel and the Biological Sciences Peer Review Panel within the Performance Based Research Fund Quality Assessment process.
Professor Ross is a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, awarded for services to agriculture.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Ian Collins, Journalist
Lincoln University, Canterbury
Tel: 64 3 325 2811 ext 8549
Email: Ian Collins