A tribute to Miriam Lips
The Wellington School of Business and Government was saddened to hear of the very recent passing of Adjunct Professor Miriam Lips, the inaugural Chair of Digital Government, and an educator who had been part of both our School of Information Management, and more recently, our School of Government.
From 2007 to 2022, Professor Lips held the Chair in Digital Government here at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. The Chair researched the introduction, management, and use of information technology in the public sector, exploring the managerial, governmental, and democratic implications of IT, along with the sector’s external relationships with society.
Prior to this role, Professor Lips held Research Fellow and Academic Director positions across the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, including a 2004 Research Associate position at the University of Oxford, and the 2004-2007 Senior Research Fellow of the Netherlands Institute of Government. She was also the Academic Director of the Master of Public Information Management, TIAS Business School, Tilburg University, the Netherlands from 2004-2007.
Upon moving to Wellington in 2007, Professor Lips, who completed an MSc and PhD from Erasmus University, Rotterdam, and an EMPA (European Master of Public Administration) from Erasmus University and Leiden University, took up the role as a Professor of e-Government. She held various editorial positions on a range of international policy and government-focused journals and publications, had been a freelance business consultant, and contributed dozens of articles, peer-reviewed research and conference papers, books, and book chapters to the public and academic discourse, and was a champion of digital inclusion.
Professor Jane Bryson, Dean, Wellington School of Business and Government says, “Miriam was a trailblazer in the digital government space. Our thoughts are with Miriam’s family and with her many colleagues here and internationally.”
Professor Karl Lofgren, Head of School of Government, reminds us that, “Apart from being a highly productive academic during her time at the University, Miriam was actively collaborating with a number of government agencies among them the Department of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Education, and the Privacy Commissioner. She served on several advisory boards both in New Zealand and overseas, including the New Zealand Data Futures Partnership Working Group.”