“It Was AUT Or Bust,”
Says Aotearoa’s First Pasifika Vice-Chancellor By Justin Hu (he/him) and David Williams (he/him) AUT’s new vice-chancellor Dr. Damon Salesa says he wants to regularly meet with students, while his “underestimated” university could be entering an era of “maturity” after years of growth and pandemic uncertainty. With the university’s former VC, Derek McCormack, having taken on the job in 2004, the new appointment is a major sign of change at the top of AUT. Last month, Salesa spoke to Debate about his background, his plans for the years ahead, and why he felt his new job was a case of “AUT or bust”. Salesa, who is Samoan, is notable in being the country’s first Pasifika vice-chancellor, having previously been the University of Auckland’s first Pro Vice-Chancellor Pacific. He acknowledged the “enormous responsibility” that cames with his new job. “You have an identity that shapes who you are and you can't perform a role without being who you are,” he said. “You carry a different kind of burden when you're in a role, and people like you haven't commonly been in that role.”
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