Source: University of Canterbury
28 February 2022
On 28 February 2022 we farewell Sue McCormack as she finishes her term as Chancellor. We thank Sue for her dedication to the University of Canterbury and acknowledge her long-standing association with the University that began as an Arts Graduate in the 1970s.
When Sue McCormack was at high school, the nuns told her mother that her daughter was “not University material”.
Determined to prove them wrong, McCormack embarked on a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Canterbury (UC) in 1973, sparking a lifelong connection with the institute.
“I have held on to that message and used it to drive me ever since,” she explains.
McCormack’s connection to UC began when she attended lectures at the University of Canterbury’s old city campus (now the Arts Centre and home to UC Arts classes again). This month, she wraps up her 13-year term on UC’s Council including a four-year term as Chancellor | Tumu Kaunihera.
“UC has been part of my life for nearly 50 years. I don’t think I ever could have imagined as a graduate that one day I would be back in a governance role – in the 70s I didn’t even know what governance was, or that it existed!”
Following her graduation, McCormack travelled around Europe working in London for the Economist and Fortnum & Mason in summer and as ski-instructor in Italy in the winter for 5 years, before deciding to return to UC to study for her Bachelor of Laws degree in the 1980s. She went on to forge a long and distinguished career as a lawyer, forming the first female law firm in Christchurch in 1994. McCormack Law merged with Simon Mortlock Partners in 2006 to form Mortlock McCormack Law, from which she retired to take up the role of Chancellor in 2019.
Passionate about UC’s role in furthering our community, McCormack has been a member of the UC Council since 2009 and took on the role of Pro-Chancellor | Tumu Tuarua Kaunihera in 2013 before becoming the Chancellor | Tumu Kaunihera in 2019.
“When the role [on council] came up, it felt like a good fit for me. I care very much about education, opportunities for our young (and older) people and Christchurch, where the University is so integral to our city.”
For the past four years, McCormack has been working closely with Vice-Chancellor | Tumu Whakarae Professor Cheryl de la Rey, UC’s first female Vice-Chancellor.
Alongside Professor De la Rey, McCormack has worked hard to move UC beyond its post-earthquake recovery phase into a transformative stage, ahead of UC’s 150th anniversary in 2023.
“It [has been] an honour and a privilege to be Chancellor. To me, the appointment meant the responsibility and duty to support the Vice-Chancellor to ensure that UC continues to advance knowledge and wellbeing to all of our students in an ever-changing and complex world.”
To play a part in the growing relationship with Ngāi Tūāhuriri and the ongoing work UC is doing to enable Māori and Pasifika students to excel was an important role for McCormack as Chancellor.
“I am also proud of being involved in the university’s post-quake rejuvenation. Not only in terms of seeing the incredible results of our physical build, but also experiencing the innovation and capabilities of our people through their research and teaching, the work ethic and community spiritedness of our students and staff and the opportunity to build a future-focused academic institution.”
McCormack’s impressive background in commercial law and close knowledge of the Christchurch construction industry proved invaluable as UC worked through its $1.2 billion post-earthquake construction programme. The university has changed immensely since her student days and her contribution to that modern transformation is something she is proud of.
Outside of her mahi at UC, McCormack has been busy with her work as a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors, Trustee of the Canterbury Museum,a judicial member of the Canterbury Earthquake Insurance Tribunal and as Deputy Chair of KiwiRail. During Christchurch’s rebuild, she also had a strategic and legal role in the CBD development of The Terrace and was also a former Director of the Lyttelton Port Company, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and the Public Trust.
She is also known for her pro bono work, including for charities Dress For Success, Clown Doctors New Zealand, the New Zealand Gynaecological Foundation and two school boards.
With so many accomplishments, it’s the personal connections that gave her the most joy in her time as Chancellor of UC.
“Being able to confer my daughter Anna’s degree and speak at her graduation ceremony was a very special and memorable part of the job,” she says. The new Chancellor will be elected on 2 March 2022 and McCormack wishes the newly appointed Chancellor all the best in a role she is sure she/he/they will enjoy immensely.
We wish to thank Sue McCormack for her extraordinary dedication and contribution to the university and its legacy. From being declared “not University material” as a schoolgirl, she has risen to become integral to the very fabric of the University of Canterbury and its community.
Media contact:
- Email: media@canterbury.ac.nz Ph: (03) 369 3631 or 027 503 0168
