Legendary jazz performer and scholar Dr Rodger Fox has been named a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and 14 alumni of Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington have also been recognised for their contributions in the 2022 New Year Honours.  

Dr Fox has taught jazz to New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī (NZSM) students for over 15 years, and is nationally and internationally renowned as New Zealand’s foremost jazz trombonist, big band leader, jazz educator, and producer.

“We are very fortunate to have Rodger on our staff at NZSM, as a drawcard for colleagues, prestigious musician visitors, and our students, who are the next generation of musicians. We are also keenly aware and appreciative of his wider role in New Zealand’s musical communities. He is an extraordinarily generous teacher and colleague, whose commitment to his art form and its wider uptake is quasi-legendary,” says Director of the NZSM Professor Sally Jane Norman.

Other alumni of the University have been recognised for services in areas ranging from sport and education, to the arts and Māori, to the Kiribati and Melanesian communities, and the New Zealand Defense Force.

Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Rawinia Higgins says, “This year’s honours list recognises the impact that the high-quality education taught and received at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington has on our communities, and Aotearoa. Congratulations to all who have been recognised.”

University alumni recognised in the 2022 New Year Honours list include:

The New Zealand Order of Merit

Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Dr Rodger Fox for services to music

Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Ms Gaye Bryham for services to sport and recreation
Ms Alison Cadman for services to housing and the community
Ms Bronwyn Hayward for services to people with disabilities and the arts
Dr Lindsay Mildenhall for services to neonatal intensive care and resuscitation training
Dr Roger Miller for services to governance and the community
Ms Sina Wendt for services to governance

Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Ms Tanea Heke for services to the arts and Māori
Dr Kathleen Irwin for services to Māori education
Dr Rose Namoori-Sinclair for services to the Kiribati community
Professor Jacinta Ruru for services to Māori and the law
Mrs Kolokesa Māhina-Tuai for services to cultures and the arts

The Queen’s Service Medal
Mrs Ina Hansen for services to rugby and education
Ms Glorious (Glo) Oxenham for services to the Melanesian community

The New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD)
Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Blythen for services to the New Zealand Defence Force