Whakatane's Indigenous university caps first PHD's
Whakatane was a sea of gowns Friday as Te Wananga o Awanuiarangi capped its graduates – including the first PhD graduates from a Maori university.
More than 1000 of the 2000 students graduating took part in the town and gown parade to the Whakatane War Memorial hall after attending a powhiri on the wananga’s new marae,Te Manuka Tutahi.
Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples joined in what was also a celebration of the institution’s 20th anniversary, and said Awanuiarangi’s School of Indigenous Graduate Studies is a great achievement.
The graduation was also attended by a group of First Nations Chiefs from Ontario, Canada, two Saami scholars from northern Scandinavia, and a delegation from Hawaii.
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