A $4 million donation from Canadian philanthropist John McCall MacBain has boosted a major scholarship programme for exceptional postgraduate students with the potential to be future leaders for New Zealand. It will ensure the programme can continue long-term, potentially forever.
The endowed donation was announced at the launch of the 2025 Kupe Leadership Scholarship programme, held at the University of Auckland on 19 March.
Established in 2018 with funding from the McCall MacBain Foundation, the programme aims to shape future leaders across many disciplines and fields. Students come from universities throughout New Zealand and are selected for their academic excellence and leadership potential. The scholarships, for postgraduate study at the University of Auckland, provide $22,000 in financial support and a comprehensive mentoring programme, matching students with prominent leaders in their fields.
So far, 111 students have participated in the programme, 35 funded by the McCall MacBain Foundation, with a further 76 funded by various donors who have each funded one or more scholars.
Past scholars of the programme have gone on to roles across a wide cross section of careers and to further study. Three have since been awarded prestigious Rhodes Scholarships to Oxford University, with one awarded a Gates Fellowship to Cambridge University.
“The vision for the programme was to create something truly exceptional, that would emulate the finest programmes on the world stage,” says John McCall MacBain. “It was to ignite a new generation of visionary leaders, driven to shape a better future for New Zealand and the world through bold action, community impact and transformative leadership. As the seventh cohort is being celebrated, I am so proud of how the programme has grown and excited to announce the next stage in our commitment to its growth.”
With the announcement of the new gift, the McCall MacBain Foundation has committed more than $6.5 million to the Kupe Leadership Scholarship programme. The new funding will mean five of the scholarships awarded each year will be fully funded in perpetuity. This is in addition to the funding from the McCall MacBain Foundation and from donors in New Zealand for year-by-year use. Up to 20 scholarships are awarded each year, with the ultimate goal to have ten of them funded in perpetuity.
“We are deeply grateful to the McCall MacBain Foundation for its ongoing and exceptional commitment,” says University of Auckland Vice-Chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater. “The Foundation was an important part of the inspiration and the impetus for the programme from the beginning. Its announcement of endowment funding is transformative, giving the programme a permanence and making it an asset for New Zealand forever.”
