Whitireia and Weltec councils merge

Minister for Tertiary Education, Steven Joyce, is pleased to confirm the merger of the Whitireia Community Polytechnic (Whitireia) and Wellington Institute of Technology (Weltec) councils.

Mr Joyce’s approval of the merger is the first since new legislation for ITP governance was passed in 2009.

“It is an exciting development that will provide opportunities for the institutions to work more closely together for the benefit of students right across the Wellington region,” says Mr Joyce.

Both institutions currently have four Ministerial appointed council members in common and provided Mr Joyce with a report recommending the combining of the councils earlier this year. Each institution consulted with their stakeholders during June and July, receiving overwhelming support for the proposal.

While the councils will be combined, each polytechnic will retain its own identity, status and character. A combined council is an amalgamation of polytechnic governance, not a merger of the entities.

“The councils’ merger will also allow Whitireia and WelTec to investigate operational areas where they can collaborate further, such as establishing a combined academic board, joining back office processes, and looking for opportunities to work closer together in complementary areas,” says Mr Joyce.

The new council will commence on 1 January 2012 and for the first year will have 12 members, reducing to 10 the following year, and then to 8 members the year after.

The initial membership of the council will comprise six members appointed by Mr Joyce as the Minister for Tertiary Education:

• Roger Sowry (Chair)
• Dr Alan Barker (Deputy Chair)
• Suzanne Snively
• Dennis Sharman
• Peter Steel
• Vaughan Renner

All Ministerial appointees are current members of either the Whitireia or WelTec councils. The remaining six members will be appointed by the council.