New scholarship opens up opportunities for Māori and Pasifika law students

A desire to help more people fulfil their true potential through access to a university education is the motivation behind a new law scholarship at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.

From left to right: Professor Mark Hickford, Hon. Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban, Hon. Judge Heemi Taumaunu, Hon. Justice Sir Joe Williams, Judge Ida Malosi.

The Te Ao Mārama/Le Ao Malama/ First Light Māori and Pasifika Futures in Law School-Leaver Scholarship aims to not only cover the costs for a number of first-in-family Māori and Pasifika students to study Law, but to provide them with social and professional support, too.

The idea for the scholarship came about in 2020 during COVID-19 alert level four, when university staff were invited to voluntarily reduce their income by 20 percent through salary giving. Professor Mark Hickford, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Government, Law and Business, saw it as an opportunity to address an imbalance that persists in law schools.

“While the numbers of Māori and Pasifika students studying law have increased, law schools are still stubbornly elitist, as demonstrated by the small proportion of students of any ethnicity from decile one to four schools,” Professor Hickford says. “We asked ourselves how we can make a difference. We settled on a fellowship package with financial support through scholarships—particularly for accommodation—and social and professional support for students, too. This will make the prospect of a career in law a realistic and attainable goal for these first-in-family students.”

Professor Hickford contributed a portion of his personal annual income to the scholarship fund. A friend and supporter of Professor Hickford’s objectives also anonymously contributed to the fund. Once the fund reaches $100,000 it can be endowed, securing the future of the programme in perpetuity.

This will make the prospect of a career in law a realistic and attainable goal for these first-in-family students.

“We want to ensure this scholarship is sustainable and reaches as many students as possible, so we need the generous financial and professional support of our community,” says Professor Hickford.

Te Herenga Waka’s Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Pasifika), Associate Professor Hon. Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban, says the scholarships represent a fantastic opportunity to increase the participation of Māori and Pasifika students.

“We are proud to work with amazing and ambitious young people and we hope, with the support of our wider community, to make a small but significant difference to the lives of these deserving young people to succeed at university and make a difference to the future of their whānau,” she says.

Distinguished alumnus and distinguished fellow, Hon. Justice Sir Joseph (Joe) Williams, believes the scholarships will help address the issue of diversity in the legal community.

“In law schools, some progress has been made on gender and ethnic diversity in the past 30 years, but not nearly enough. And almost no progress is apparent with respect to socio-economic diversity. I believe that fellowship from the law community will help future students in the most positive way.”

We would be delighted to work with you to help us reach our goal of a more diverse and inclusive legal community. For more information about how you can support Te Ao Mārama/Le Ao Malama/First Light Māori and Pasifika Futures in Law School-Leaver Scholarship, please contact Victoria Beckett, development manager for Government, Law and Business at victoria.beckett@vuw.ac.nz or on +64 21 0254 1461.