Today’s untimely death of the former rector of the University of Auckland.
University of Auckland, Vice-Chancellor Dawn Freshwater said, “It is with great regret that I advise that former Vice-Chancellor and UniServices Chairman Emeritus Professor Stuart McCutcheon passed away abruptly today.”
“This comes as a great shock to all of us. The University expresses its deepest sympathies to Stuart’s wife, Deborah and family and asks that their need for privacy be honoured during this trying time, she said.
Before leaving his position as university president in 2020, McCutcheon led the institution for 15 years. He served as president of the Victoria University of Wellington for four years.
What happened to Stuart McCutcheon?
Stuart McCutcheon, a former University of Auckland vice-chancellor, has away. Vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater of the University of Auckland said that McCutcheon passed away unexpectedly on Friday.
We are all in complete astonishment about this, she said. The university sincerely sympathises with Deborah, Stuart’s wife, and their family and asks that everyone respect their right to privacy during this trying time.
Stuart McCutcheon cause of death
Maarten Holl / Things Stuart McCutcheon, the previous vice-chancellor of the University of Auckland, passed away unexpectedly, according to Dawn Freshwater, the vice-chancellor. His reason for death is still a mystery without any additional information. We will update this page whenever we have enough information from authoritative sources.
We’ll update this section when further information becomes available regarding the tragic occurrence that left so many people in mourning. We send his family and friends our sincere sympathies.
Stuart McCutcheon: Biography
On January 6, 2023, Stuart Norman McCutcheon, the head of a New Zealand institution, passed away. The longest-serving Vice-Chancellor in New Zealand at the time, he served three five-year terms as the University of Auckland’s vice chancellor from March 2020 until March 2020.
Before joining Massey University, he served as Victoria University of Wellington’s vice-chancellor, deputy vice-chancellor, and assistant vice-chancellor for research.
Educational Background
He was paid the most in New Zealand’s public sector in 2012. He held dual positions as chairman of the Palmerston North-based Riddet Institute and secretary of the Woolf Fisher Trust, a Center of Research Excellence in Food Science.
In 1976, McCutcheon graduated with first-class honours from Massey University with a BASc (Hons). Later, while pursuing a PhD in metabolic physiology, he held down a job as a lecturer.
Professional Life
Over 15 years, McCutcheon oversaw the growth of the University of Auckland. Staff numbers increased from 4,332 FTE in 2005 to 5,968 FTE in 2019, his final full year as Vice-Chancellor. During the same period, there were more students than ever—34,521 as opposed to 30,800 (EFTS).
The physical infrastructure of the University was updated and streamlined through the sale of the Tamaki Campus and the purchase of property for the Newmarket Campus. The colleges of commerce, science, engineering, and medicine have all received brand-new buildings.
The University’s net assets increased by more than three times to $3.5 billion by 2019, and its operating revenue had virtually doubled to $1.2 billion annually. Professor McCutcheon spearheaded the University of Auckland Campaign, New Zealand’s most significant and most effective philanthropic endeavour, raising $380 million.
The percentages of Mori and Pacific students at the University remained steady during McCutcheon’s tenure, despite significant efforts to help students.
In a quote that was ascribed to him, McCutcheon lamented, “I’ve never persuaded any administration, any minister, to be truly interested in the future of the institutions.”
The decision by the University of Auckland to eliminate three speciality libraries owing to financial constraints drew a lot of criticism in 2018.
In September 2019, a white supremacist group attacked McCutcheon for not pulling down posters after several University of Auckland students complained that individuals wearing swastikas intimidated them and that fascist slogans, stickers, and signs were purportedly appearing on campus.
Before this, McCutcheon had referred to the statements made by the university’s larger white nationalist discourse as “nonsense.” Later, in a letter to the employees, McCutcheon emphasised his stance on free speech, claiming that he has always resisted racism and would continue to do so, discrimination and hate speech of any type, including that defined as white supremacy.
Additionally, he acknowledged the real hurt and threat some university employees experienced in response to these manifestations of white supremacist sentiments.