INTOUCH : New Dean for School

Frank Scrimgeour has been appointed as dean to lead the University of Waikato Management School, following the retirement of Mike Pratt.
Scrimgeour is leading environmental economist, and has contributed to regional, Maori and national policymaking on issues ranging from carbon taxes to resource valuation. He is currently president of the New Zealand Association of Economists, and former president of the New Zealand Agricultural Economics and Resource Society. 
He has participated in World Bank panels on agriculture and natural resources, and is currently working with New Zealand’s kiwifruit and dairy industries to identify factors for future success. He is also an adviser to Katolyst, the Waikato regional development agency, on the region’s economic performance and prospects. 
Scrimgeour joined the University of Waikato as lecturer in 1989. He was director of the Management Research Centre and chaired the economics, finance and tourism departments.
He holds BAgSc from Lincoln College, PhD (Agricultural and Resource Economics) from the University of Hawaii and BD from Melbourne College of Divinity.
Scrimgeour said he is looking forward to continuing to work with the outstanding academic and support staff at the school.
 “Our goal is to ensure that our rigorous academic approach combined with an emphasis on practice relevance, and the impact of our graduates and research publications, will have positive effect on business and economic outcomes within New Zealand and around the world.”  
University of Waikato Vice-Chancellor Roy Crawford said that professor Scrimgeour had been selected after comprehensive recruitment search both locally and internationally. 
“In academic terms, his significant strengths in agriculture and environmental economic research have particular interest for the Waikato region, while his global economic perspective will help ensure that this school is real option for international as well as local students.”