Wilfred Gordon Malcolm (29 November 1933 – 6 October 2018) was a New Zealand mathematician and university administrator. He was professor of

pure mathematics Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics. These concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical applications, ...

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 ...

from the mid 1970s, until serving as vice-chancellor of the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

between 1985 and 1994.

Biography

Born in

Feilding Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. Feilding has w ...

on 29 November 1933, Malcolm was educated at

Feilding Agricultural High School "Have Courage, Desire Greatly" , coordinates = , type = State Co-Ed Secondary School (Year 9–13) with boarding facilities , established = 1921 as Feilding Technical High School , MOE = 197 , principal = Nathan Stewart , ...

. He went on to study at Wellington Teachers' College and

Victoria University College 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

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

with first-class honours in 1957. He won a Shirtcliffe Fellowship, which enabled him to take parts II and III of the

Mathematical Tripos The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest Tripos examined at the University. Origin In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was a ...

, specialising in algebra and topology, at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. While in England, Malcolm married Edmée Ruth Prebensen. Malcolm returned to Victoria, where he took up a lecturership in pure mathematics. Between 1964 and 1966, he spent time away from the university, working as the general secretary of the Inter-Varsity Fellowship of Evangelical Unions. However, he returned to lecturing at Victoria in 1967, and was promoted to senior lecturer the following year. In 1972, he completed his PhD thesis, titled ''Ultraproducts and higher order models'', supervised by George Hughes and

Max Cresswell Maxwell John Cresswell (born 19 November 1939) is a New Zealand philosopher and logician, known for his work in modal logic.''Festschrift for Max Cresswell on the occasion of his 65th birthday.'' In: ''Logique et Analyse.'' Number 181, March 20 ...

from the Department of Philosophy, and C.J. Seelye from the Mathematics Department. In 1985, Malcolm moved to the University of Waikato to take up the vice-chancellorship, serving in that role until 1994. Malcolm was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

in 1990. In the 1994 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to tertiary education. The following year, he was conferred with an honorary doctorate by the University of Waikato. The Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research at Waikato was named in his honour in 2002, in recognition of his contribution to education. Malcolm died in Auckland on 6 October 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malcolm, Wilf 1933 births 2018 deaths People from Feilding People educated at Feilding High School Victoria University of Wellington alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge New Zealand mathematicians Academic staff of the Victoria University of Wellington Academic staff of the University of Waikato New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire