Otago Polytechnic left 'in a good place'

After eight years on the Otago Polytechnic council, including seven years as the council's chairman, Dunedin accountant Graham Crombie says he is disappointed but not surprised that he missed being chosen as one of the ministerial appointments to the restructured council.

"I was asked by several people to put my name forward and did so, but I have to say it was not with any great expectation of reappointment, having already done eight years, " Mr Crombie said yesterday.

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce had on Wednesday reappointed Susie Johnstone and also made three new appointments: Dunedin lawyer Kathy Grant, Presbyterian Support Otago chief executive Gillian Bremner and Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie.

Mr Crombie said he knew all three new appointees and had worked with them "in various guises" through the years. They all were competent people who would do their best for the polytechnic, Mr Crombie said.

He said he "felt really good" about his involvement with the council, saying the institution had come "a hugely long way" since his appointment in 2002.

At that time, the polytechnic was in an uproar about over-ambitious campus redevelopment plans which resulted in a $2.5 million budget blowout and the eventual resignation of then chief executive Wanda Korndoffer.

"It was chaos when I arrived ... but we've left it in a good place."

All polytechnic councils have been restructured from between 12 and 20 members to eight, four of whom are ministerial appointments. Half the councils have retained none or only one of their previous ministerial appointees.

Mr Crombie said restructuring was a big change for councils.

"Some of the change is down to timing, with a bunch of people already having served two terms, and some of it is just change. If all the appointments had been exactly the same, the minister would have said: 'Well, what was the point of restructuring?"'

Ironically, Mr Crombie and previous ministerial appointees Mark Ryan and David Salter are charged with finding four people to round out the Otago council.

Mr Crombie said one of the four would be a Maori representative nominated by local rununga, one would be a person with tertiary education experience, although not necessarily an Otago Polytechnic staff member, and the others would be general representatives selected on the basis of their skills and experience.

He said he believed restructuring and a smaller council "was the right outcome" for the polytechnic and he was confident people with the right skills would be selected for the vacancies.

Mr Ryan and Mr Salter yesterday said they had not sought reappointment. Mr Ryan has served eight years and Mr Salter seven.