Professor Bruce McKenzie retires after 42 years at Lincoln University

“It is often said of retirees: “The place won’t be the same without you”.

While these words may be tired and overused, in the case of Professor Bruce McKenzie they are the literal truth. The Lincoln University campus will not be the same place when he retires from his illustrious career on 20 December 2024.

In his 42 years at the University – 40 as a member of staff and two as a student – Bruce has made his mark in countless ways, not least at Whare Hākinakina (LU Gym), where he can famously be found most days working out.

And in the University’s corridors of power, he has pretty much done it all, including a three-year term as Acting Vice-Chancellor, when he steered the University through one of its most testing times during the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown.

Pandemic era

In the stellar constellation that is Bruce McKenzie’s Lincoln University career, the Covid era was both a highlight and a lowlight.

“Covid wasn’t particularly difficult,” says Bruce, “but it was … frustrating.”

Why frustrating?

“Regardless of any decision I made during Covid, half our staff thought I was wrong, and the other half thought I was doing a good job. I’ve been here long enough, and people know me well enough, to be honest with me. Which is good, but sometimes it can be painful!

“But we came through Covid times pretty well, I thought.”

In fact the record shows that in 2020, despite unparalleled challenges, including fluctuating government-imposed alert levels, the University performed exceptionally well, making it through the year with a satisfactory financial result and achieving a pleasing increase in domestic student enrolments, while also rolling out a fully online, asynchronous learning environment.

In the 2020 Annual Report, Chancellor Bruce Gemmell acknowledged Professor Bruce McKenzie “for his stalwart leadership and influence as Acting Vice-Chancellor during these extraordinary times. His resolute and unwavering stewardship of the University throughout the fluctuating Covid-19 alert levels enabled the organisation to navigate through the ongoing uncertainties and disruptions, effectively delivering a satisfactory 2020 performance.”

The pandemic era certainly demonstrated to Bruce the extraordinary nature of the Lincoln University staff whānau.

“I remember early on I went out and asked our staff if they could help us out. And they answered the call. Some staff gave back some of their salary, some gave back holiday pay. It was very, very humbling. And to me, it says something about Lincoln University that’s really, really special.

“We might not always love each other, but when push comes to shove, our people really do support the University.

“It sounds a bit trite to say: ‘it’s the people’, but it really is the people. And the place. Something about the people and the place, to me, makes it really special.”

Visit of HRH The Prince of Wales

In November 2019 Lincoln University welcomed then-Prince Charles (now King Charles) to campus, where he gave a powerful keynote speech on the state of the global environment to an audience of around 300 staff, students and partner organisations.

Bruce remembers the royal visit with immense satisfaction, as he was very motivated to extend the invitation, and worked determinedly to make it happen.

During his visit, Prince Charles emphasised his pleasure at being invited to speak at an institution that he described as one he had “long admired from afar”.

“The Prince made it very clear that he wanted to talk to students, so we set up a session with postgraduates and School of Landscape Architecture students in the SoLA building. He talked to the students at length.

“He made what I thought was a very good speech. I wasn’t necessarily expecting to be impressed, but I was really impressed by him. The visit was definitely a memorable highlight.”

Waimarie and Whare Hākinakina

The construction of the University’s flagship science building Waimarie is also one of Bruce’s career high points. He wasn’t Acting Vice-Chancellor when Waimarie was completed, but the project was approved during his tenure, and he dug the first sod in a ground-breaking ceremony in February 2021.

“One of my biggest highlights was receiving a letter from the Minister of Education to let us know the funding for Waimarie had been approved and we could go ahead and build the facility. Huge highlight!”

And naturally for such a keen gym rat, he feels enormously proud of the University’s redeveloped gym, Whare Hākinakina.

“That was a very successful redevelopment project, and a wonderful asset for the University and for the wider community.”

Camaraderie and capability

In addition to being one of its longest-serving and most loyal staff members, Bruce McKenzie is also one of Lincoln University’s most ardent champions. One of the aspects of Lincoln life that he will miss the most when he hangs up his mortarboard is something he refers to as “the camaraderie of accomplishing substantial things.”

He explains, “Lincoln University has been responsible for research that has brought in billions of dollars of revenue for the New Zealand economy. I believe the work we do here provides great benefit and value to New Zealand in our areas of expertise. And for me, that’s agriculture. There’s nothing bigger for New Zealand than agriculture.

“Many of our staff are people of outstanding capability and reputation, and working alongside people of that calibre has been inspiring and very rewarding for me personally.

“The people at Lincoln University have made a real difference to this country, and I would argue in many cases, around the world.

“So it is a very, very satisfying and rewarding place to work – both for teaching and for research.”

Landing at Lincoln

A native of the United States, Bruce was born in Louisiana, raised in Iowa, schooled in Indiana, and graduated with a BS from Penn State University in Pennsylvania.

Following graduation he spent three years volunteering in the Peace Corps in Samoa, where he met and married wife Ruta. Not ready to go home after his Peace Corps stint, he and Ruta came to New Zealand where Bruce taught at a secondary school in Auckland for two years.

A pivotal moment came when Bruce decided to pursue a PhD, and after first failing to gain entry at Massey University, he landed at Lincoln in the early 1980s, completing a Postgraduate Diploma and then a PhD in agronomy and crop science.

Becoming an LU staff member was never the plan, but Bruce’s supervisor and mentor, the late Professor Jim White, had other ideas.

“Jim was a true gentleman and a pleasure to work with. He was responsible for pretty much everything that happened for me at Lincoln University.”

What next?

After four decades at Lincoln University, and many of those spent in leadership roles, what’s next for Bruce McKenzie?

“Well, Grant (Vice-Chancellor Professor Grant Edwards) has been kind enough to make me Emeritus Professor, so I’ll be hanging around, doing bits and pieces. And I’ll have a desk in Waimarie.”

Lots of travel around New Zealand is also on the agenda. Bruce and Ruta bought a camper van a couple of years ago, and they are looking forward to cruising round the country, particularly seeing more of the North Island.

Bruce is excited to resume one of his major life passions this summer – scuba diving. A heart attack suffered on Halloween 2023 while holidaying in Fiji came out of the blue for Bruce, and was followed by bacterial pneumonia in the later half of this year.

“But my doctor says I can go diving again, so I’ll have my first dive in a long time this coming summer while we’re in the Sounds.”

And hopefully there will be plenty of time for one of his other great passions, fishing.

Haere rā, Bruce. May your retirement be as rewarding and fulfilling as your brilliant career.

Professor Bruce A. McKenzie

Professor McKenzie’s association with Lincoln University began in the early 1980s, when he attended as a postgraduate student, completing a post graduate diploma and then a PhD in agronomy and crop science.

From there, he took up a 22-year post at the University as an Associate Professor of Plant Science, responsible for teaching a range of classes in plant science, statistics and annual crop production.

In 2008 he became Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences (AGLS), which involved managing 150 staff members in four departments.

He worked in this role for more than seven years before becoming the University’s Chief Academic Officer, overseeing Lincoln’s academic faculties, as well as the Library, Teaching and Learning department and the Research Management Office.

He was appointed to the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor in 2018, and from January 2019 to December 2021 he served a three-year term as Acting Vice-Chancellor.

While Lincoln University conducted a recruitment process for a new Dean of AGLS in 2024, Professor McKenzie again stepped up to the role of Interim Dean of AGLS from January to September 2024.

He will retire in December at which point he will take up the role of Emeritus Professor.