Margaret Ellen Fairbairn-Dunlop is a Samoan-New Zealand academic. She is the first person in New Zealand to hold a chair in

Pacific studies Pacific studies is the study of the Pacific region (Oceania) across academic disciplines such as anthropology, archeology, art, economics, geography, history, linguistics, literature, music, politics, or sociology. In the fields of anthropology an ...

Education

Fairbairn-Dunlop studied at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

, graduating with a Master of Arts degree. She completed a PhD at

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...

in Australia.

Career

Fairbairn-Dunlop lived in Samoa from 1981 to 2005, where she worked for aid organisations based in the Pacific such as

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

UNIFEM The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, french: Fonds de développement des Nations unies pour la femme, ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International ...

and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. On her return to New Zealand, she was appointed the inaugural director of Va’aomanu Pasifika, the Pacific Studies department at Victoria University of Wellington. Fairbairn-Dunlop was the founding Professor of Pacific Studies at

Auckland University of Technology Auckland University of Technology (AUT) ( mi, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT ...

. She is also chair of the Health Research Council Pacific team and sits on a number of Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health committees, the Social Sciences committee of the

Royal Society Te Apārangi The Royal Society Te Apārangi (in full, Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi) is an independent, statutory not-for-profit body in New Zealand providing funding and policy advice in the fields of sciences and the humanities. History The R ...

and the UNESCO Social Sciences Committee. In 2013 she was appointed president of PACIFICA, an organisation which aims to help Pacific Island women to participate in and contribute to public life in New Zealand.

Recognition

In the

2008 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and a ...

, Fairbairn-Dunlop was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to research on families. In the

2015 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, she was promoted to

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

, for services to education and the Pacific community. Fairbairn-Dunlop won the

Ministry of Education (New Zealand) The Ministry of Education (Māori: ''Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with overseeing the New Zealand education system. The Ministry was formed in 1989 when the former, all-encompassing De ...

Pacific Education Award at the SunPix Awards 2022. She said, "“I hope the young people coming through have watched and learned from our generation and seen what they can do and what they should do for our people.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbairn-Dunlop, Peggy Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Victoria University of Wellington alumni Victoria University of Wellington faculty Auckland University of Technology faculty Macquarie University alumni New Zealand people of Samoan descent Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Mataʻafa family