Two honorary degrees to be presented
TWO Otago University alumni will be awarded honorary doctorates at two of the upcoming May graduation ceremonies.
Justice Forrest Miller and Bridget Williams will be recognised for their work in their fields and their contributions to the university.
Justice Miller will receive an honorary doctorate of laws and Ms Williams an honorary doctorate of literature at respective ceremonies on May 18.
South Otagoborn Justice Miller graduated from Otago University in 1978 with a bachelor of arts degree in history and then a bachelor of laws with honours in 1981.
In 2013 he became one of the first New Zealanders to receive the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration Award for Excellence for his work establishing the Earthquake Commission list. He was also appointed to the Court of Appeal the same year.
He was instrumental in developing electronic casebooks, routinely used for hearings in the Court of Appeal.
Justice Miller has maintained strong links with Otago University’s Faculty of Law and often returns to judge student competitions.
Ms Williams is the founder of specialist nonfiction publisher Bridget Williams Books.
A statement from the university said Ms Williams was considered a ‘‘hugely influential’’ figure in New Zealand letters and publishing.
In the 1980s she established the nationwide Listener Women’s book festival.
Committed to working on Maori history, she published the awardwinning work, Tangata Whenua: An Illustrated History.
A spokeswoman for the university said Ms Williams played an integral role in starting public conversations in New Zealand about its history and identity and had been ‘‘extremely influential in shaping New Zealand intellectual life and cultural debate’’.