Dear CL,

 

I refer to your request of 27 March 2026, for official information under
the Official Information Act 1982.

 

The University will respond to your request as soon as reasonably
practicable, and within the Official Information Act’s maximum time limit
of 20 working days from the date of your request (29 April 2026) unless
that time limit is extended under the Act.

Yours sincerely,

Adam

 

[1]signature_1301701140

Adam Miller

Kaiâwhina Ture | Legal Assistant

Te tari o te Ihorangi | Office of the Vice-Chancellor

Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland

[2]Image

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: CL Rainwater <[FOI #34262 email]>
Sent: Friday, March 27, 2026 4:59 AM
To: Legal <[University of Auckland request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Academic promotions as
"appointments"?
 
Dear University of Auckland,

If a member of the academic staff applies for an administrative
appointment (such as Dean, Deputy Dean, or Head of Department) and
simultaneously applies for an academic promotion (eg, from Associate
Professor to Professor), does that person have to apply for a promotion in
accordance with the Professor Promotion Procedures contained here:
[3]https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a...

Can the University promote an existing member of the academic staff
without following the University's academic promotion procedures by
combining the promotion with an administrative appointment and then
labeling the combined promotion and appointment as an "appointments
process"?

Between 2022-26, inclusive, how many members of the academic staff have
been promoted from Associate Professor to Professor without following the
Professor Promotion Procedures contained at:
[4]https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a...

Yours faithfully,

CL Rainwater

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #34262 email]

Is [University of Auckland request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to University of Auckland? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[5]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[6]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
3. https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a...
4. https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a...
5. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
6. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

Dear CL,
I refer to your request of 27 March 2026. The University's response
follows.
"If a member of the academic staff applies for an administrative
appointment (such as Dean, Deputy Dean, or Head of Department) and
simultaneously applies for an academic promotion (eg, from Associate
Professor to Professor), does that person have to apply for a promotion in
accordance with the Professor Promotion Procedures contained here:
[1]https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a...

Can the University promote an existing member of the academic staff
without following the University's academic promotion procedures by
combining the promotion with an administrative appointment and then
labeling the combined promotion and appointment as an "appointments
process"?"
Where a position at Professor level is established, and an Associate
Professor applies for and takes up that position, they would be appointed
to it as a Professor. This is not a "promotion" for the purposes of the
University's academic promotion procedures; it is an appointment.
"Between 2022-26, inclusive, how many members of the academic staff have
been promoted from Associate Professor to Professor without following the
Professor Promotion Procedures contained at:
[2]https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a...
The strict answer to your question is that no members of our academic
staff have been "promoted" from Associate Professor to Professor for
2022-2026 without following the Professor Promotion Procedures. As
explained above, an Associate Professor who takes up a Professor-level
position will become a Professor by appointment rather than promotion. I
believe, however, that you are intending to request figures on the numbers
of Associate Professors who became Professors by appointment to
Professor-level positions rather than promotion under the Professor
Promotion Procedure, for the 2022-2026 period. We do not hold these
statistics and cannot readily provide these through any existing reports,
as we do not specifically capture this data about appointments. This
constitutes a refusal of this part of your request under section 18(g) of
the OIA.
You have the right to make a complaint to an Ombudsman if you are
dissatisfied with the University's response.
Yours sincerely,

Landon Watt
Legal Advisor
Office of the Vice-Chancellor

Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Adam Miller <[email address]> on behalf of Legal
<[University of Auckland request email]>
Sent: Friday, March 27, 2026 2:55 PM
To: CL Rainwater <[FOI #34262 email]>
Cc: Legal <[University of Auckland request email]>
Subject: 2026-OIA-0045-Rainwater
 

Dear CL,

 

I refer to your request of 27 March 2026, for official information under
the Official Information Act 1982.

 

The University will respond to your request as soon as reasonably
practicable, and within the Official Information Act’s maximum time limit
of 20 working days from the date of your request (29 April 2026) unless
that time limit is extended under the Act.

Yours sincerely,

Adam

 

[3]signature_1301701140

Adam Miller

Kaiāwhina Ture | Legal Assistant

Te tari o te Ihorangi | Office of the Vice-Chancellor

Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland

[4]Image

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: CL Rainwater <[FOI #34262 email]>
Sent: Friday, March 27, 2026 4:59 AM
To: Legal <[University of Auckland request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Academic promotions as
"appointments"?
 
Dear University of Auckland,

If a member of the academic staff applies for an administrative
appointment (such as Dean, Deputy Dean, or Head of Department) and
simultaneously applies for an academic promotion (eg, from Associate
Professor to Professor), does that person have to apply for a promotion in
accordance with the Professor Promotion Procedures contained here:
[5]https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a...

Can the University promote an existing member of the academic staff
without following the University's academic promotion procedures by
combining the promotion with an administrative appointment and then
labeling the combined promotion and appointment as an "appointments
process"?

Between 2022-26, inclusive, how many members of the academic staff have
been promoted from Associate Professor to Professor without following the
Professor Promotion Procedures contained at:
[6]https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a...

Yours faithfully,

CL Rainwater

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #34262 email]

Is [University of Auckland request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to University of Auckland? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[7]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[8]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a...
2. https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a...
5. https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a...
6. https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a...
7. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
8. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers