Professor Ian Shirley, founder of the AUT Institute of Public Policy and more recently the Policy Observatory, is retiring. Ian is not stopping research, merely stepping aside from administrative and leadership duties to focus on a long-planned book on New Zealand as a social laboratory. Ian will continue to be engaged with AUT and the Policy Observatory as an Emeritus Professor.

In a letter to supporters, Ian commented that the University will:

“…maintain the Policy Observatory as a strategic initiative demonstrating its commitment to act as a ‘critic and conscience of society’. Although this phrase is enshrined in the current Education Act, scholars in New Zealand universities who seek to perform this role in public forums are expected to go it alone with little tangible support from university administrations. The formation of the Policy Observatory was designed to formally establish an evidence-based entity that would draw on established scholars from across the universities in this country as well as colleagues across the world – and that meant committing university resources for the purpose. In establishing the Observatory and in accessing university resources for that purpose I am indebted to the Vice Chancellor Derek McCormack who has been [dedicated] to the enterprise from the outset. In practice it means that the Policy Observatory will continue to play a significant role in public policy discussions and debates throughout 2017 and beyond.”

The Policy Observatory wishes Ian well with his book project and thanks him for the solid foundation he has built for the Observatory.