From "blurry boundaries" and business, to her mentors and
people's obsession with her gender, University of Otago
vice-chancellor Prof Harlene Hayne covered it all with a
group of women yesterday.
Speaking at the second annual She's Motivated conference,
organised by the Otago Southland Employers' Association for
businesswomen, Prof Hayne shared the experiences which led to
her becoming the first psychologist and first American to be
appointed vice-chancellor at the university.
She also happened to be the first woman to hold the role, a
point many had chosen to focus on, she said.
"Every time the issue of my gender comes up, I'm a little bit
taken aback."
Her career had been "relatively gender blind"; she had not
experienced special treatment, nor found any glass ceiling.
These points made her consider the "amazing women" who paved
the way before her at the university.
They included the first woman graduate, Caroline Freeman, who
received a BA in 1885; and Ethel Benjamin, who was the first
woman to graduate in law, in 1897, and New Zealand's first
woman lawyer.
There were a "number of other women" who influenced her
career, including her PhD supervisor, Prof Carolyn
Rovee-Collier, of Rutgers University, and controversial
psychologist Prof Elizabeth Loftus.
Prof Rovee-Collier taught her to lead by example and "never
expect people to do more than you would be willing to do
yourself"; to stand up for herself and be able to "argue your
way out of a situation where someone else appears to have the
upper hand; and that "blurry boundaries" between work and
home life were necessary for highly ambitious women.
Prof Hayne recalled grading papers on the side of a hockey
turf and her children "growing up under [her] desk" rather
than coming home to home-baked cookies.
The experiences made her a valuable role model, and taught
them much about the workings of universities and how to
interact with range of people.
"It has actually meant that I was able to meet the needs of
my children and my own ambitions," she said.
Prof Loftus reminded her how privileged she was to be an
academic and how she had an "obligation" to give back.
This motivated Prof Hayne to co-found the Innocence Project
New Zealand, with Prof Maryanne Garry, of Victoria
University.
The joint project between Victoria and Otago universities
provided pro-bono assistance to people who had been wrongly
convicted of crimes.
Prof Hayne also helped found the National Science Panel in
2006, and was appointed co-chair of Office of the Prime
Minister's Science Advisory Committee Working Party on
reducing social and psychological morbidity during
adolescence.
While classing herself a "dyed-in-the-wool" academic, she was
now enjoying being part of the business side of a university
with 22,000 students, 3500 staff and an economic impact of
$1.6 billion.
"Being an academic and business leader in 2011, I really do
think you can have it all. For me, the thing that has allowed
me to have it all has been using those models in my head of
all the women who come before me."
ellie.constantine@odt.co.nz
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