The University of Otago has today unveiled its a new strategy as it takes a bold and historic step to becoming a Te Tiriti-led organisation.

The country’s oldest university proposes to adopt a new Māori name and tohu (symbol), created in collaboration with mana whenua.

Acting vice-chancellor Professor Helen Nicholson said the changes align with the strategy Vision 2040, launched last month. Becoming Te Tiriti-led is an obligation, not a choice.

It means acknowledging tino rangatiratanga (the right of Māori to govern themselves) a form of authority alongside kāwanatanga.

The university said it is immensely proud of its past and while recognising and embracing its heritage, including its Scottish founders, it also acknowledges the desire to build on the strength of its history.

The new strategic direction turns the university to its present and future, one in which they recognise the critical importance of mātauraka Māori (wisdom), and its place and its culture in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Stakeholder consultation on a bold visual identity proposal has been designed to better reflect its aspirations for the future, started today.

Nicholson said at the heart of this long-term plan is the desire to become a Te Tiriti-led organisation, working in partnership with mana whenua.

While the University of Otago name will remain, the proposal includes changing the current Māori name from Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo to Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka – a metaphor meaning “a place of many firsts”.

Nicholson said it will take substantial mahi to achieve the various strategic and operational ambitions within Vision 2040.

Otago University acting vice-chancellor Professor Helen Nicholson.

“Our desire for a new identity is just one part of what we believe needs to happen over the coming decade and a half,” she says.

The proposed tohu is a representation of the Ōtākou channel, in Otago Harbour, which brings water, kai and life to and from the region – just as the university brings and shares knowledge across Aotearoa.

Nicholson acknowledges the proposal is a bold change.

“In choosing to consider this path, we have reflected our proud history full of transformation, of daring, of choosing to be an institution which prizes education and community, and of doing the right thing rather than the easy thing.

“We want to be a New Zealand university that welcomes all people and works together to help them succeed. We want to reflect modern Aotearoa New Zealand and continue to lead at the forefront of our nation’s progress. And we want our visual identity [to] speak to our unique and special place in the world,” she says.

Vision 2040 was developed after substantial consultation with the wider university community. A review of the university’s visual identity has been under way since 2019.

The tohu would replace the existing university coat of arms in many situations, with coat of arms’ use retained in ceremonial settings such as graduation and in locations such as university colleges.

The old and the new proposed Otago University logo.

The university is encouraging staff, students and alumni to provide feedback on the proposal.

The consultation period runs until Wednesday, April 12, after which the University Council will make a decision on whether to progress with the proposed changes.