Grant Guilford

Grant Guilford
Guilford in 2018
Born William Grant Guilford
Christchurch, New Zealand
Residence New Zealand
Alma mater University of California, Davis
Scientific career
Fields Veterinary Nutrition
Thesis Experimental studies of gastrointestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury and food sensitivity in dogs. (1993)

William Grant Guilford, known as Grant Guilford, is a New Zealand-American academic and administrator, specialising in veterinary nutrition. Guilford is currently the Vice-Chancellor at Victoria University of Wellington. His primary residence is in Auckland.

Academic career

After a Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Bachelor of Philosophy[1] at Massey University, Guilford completed a PhD in nutrition from University of California, Davis.[2] The title of his 1993 thesis was Experimental Studies of Gastrointestinal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury and Food Sensitivity in Dogs.[3]

Following the completion of his PhD, Guilford worked at University of Missouri and the University of California, Davis, before returning to New Zealand to Massey University,[2] where he studied food allergies in domestic pets.[4]

Guilford was first author on the third edition of the veterinary textbook Strombeck's Small Animal Gastroenterology.[5]

University administrative career

Guilford rose to professor and served for 10 years as the Foundation Head of the Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences at Massey University.[6] The institute became the first veterinary school in the southern hemisphere to be accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association.[7] Guilford faced opposition from animal rights activists, some of whom took direct action, with the Animal Liberation Front liberating dogs from a farm owned by the University.[4][8][9]

Guilford moved to the University of Auckland as Dean of Science in 2009[10][11] and Vice Chancellor of Victoria University of Wellington in 2013.[12]

During his tenure as Vice-Chancellor, Victoria University of Wellington has grown and modernized its physical campus, with a new science building which was opened by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and creative studios in Miramar.[13][13]

There has been tension between Guilford's administration and the Tertiary Education Union, where in one instance the University was offering higher salaries to those who chose not to be union members.[14][15] This, and other contributing factors, led to industrial action undertaken by union members.[16]

Under Guilford, the Victoria University of Wellington's Karori campus was sold to private developers. This prompted some controversy, as the university had acquired the land for $10 from the Ministry of Education, and sold it for an undisclosed sum (the land was valued in excess of $20 million) to Ryman for the purposes of making a retirement village.[17][18] This led to tension between the Ministry of Education, the Wellington City Council, the Karori community, and Victoria University of Wellington as many considered that it was improper for the university to make such a profit off public land.[19][20] Guilford later explained that Victoria has spent around $21 million upgrading the campus, challenging the idea that the University had made a $20 million profit from the land.[21]

In May 2018, Guilford announced that Victoria University of Wellington was considering renaming the institution to "The University of Wellington."[22] According to Guilford, the proposed name change is intended to provide clarity, and to avoid other similarly-named institutions claiming credit for research work carried out by faculty and students of Victoria University of Wellington. Public consultation on the proposal ended in early June 2018, and Guilford indicated that if the name change was to go ahead, it was likely to be rolled out gradually, noting that “There’s lots of upside for it measured in many millions of dollars, but doesn’t mean you should be spending a lot of money in these changes.”[23]

Victoria University of Wellington divested itself from fossil fuels during Guilford's tenure as Vice-Chancellor.[24] Guilford has called for politicians to act on climate change, and made a brief submission to the Ministry for the Environment consultation phase on setting New Zealand’s post-2020 climate change target.[25][26]

Roles outside of academia

As of 2018, Guilford is on the board of the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency (WREDA).[27] He has previously held positions on the boards of several companies, including New Zealand Genomics Limited, centres of research excellence, including the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, and the crown research institute Landcare Research Limited.[28]

References

  1. ↑ "New Vic vice-chancellor named". Stuff. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Senior Leadership | Victoria University of Wellington". Victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "Experimental studies of gastrointestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury and food sensitivity in dogs. – 01UCD". Search.library.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  4. 1 2 "NZ Pet Food Allergy Breakthrough | Scoop News". Scoop.co.nz. 19 June 2001. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "Strombeck's Small Animal Gastroenterology, 3e: 9780721637600: Medicine & Health Science Books @". Amazon.com. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  6. ↑ "Grant Guilford: Executive Profile & Biography – Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  7. ↑ Zealand, Massey University, New. "Massey Professor moves on". Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  8. ↑ "Stolen dogs returned by captors – National News". TVNZ. 27 August 2005. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  9. ↑ Press, 101cm 3 Sep 2005; p.D1-2; ISSN 0113-9762
  10. ↑ "Massey Professor moves on – Massey University". Massey.ac.nz. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  11. ↑ "Dean of Science appointed at The University of Auckland – The University of Auckland". Science.auckland.ac.nz. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  12. ↑ "Victoria University appoints Vice-Chancellor | Victoria University of Wellington". Victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  13. 1 2 Wellington, Victoria University of (22 February 2018). "Prime Minister opens new Biological Sciences building". Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  14. ↑ "University slammed for 'anti-union' job ads". Radio New Zealand. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "Victoria University defends job advertisement offering higher wage for non-union members". Stuff. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  16. ↑ "Staff see red over Vic Uni pay dispute". Radio New Zealand. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  17. ↑ "University sells Karori campus to retirement operator". Radio New Zealand. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  18. ↑ "Karori campus faces further hurdle as council attempts to suspend Heritage NZ process". Stuff. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  19. ↑ "Whistleblower claims Victoria had plans to sell Karori campus before taking over title". Stuff. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  20. ↑ "Karori community 'losing a lot' with campus sale". Radio New Zealand. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  21. ↑ "Update on Karori campus".
  22. ↑ "Victoria University Looking to Change Name to Avoid Overseas Confusion". Stuff. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  23. ↑ "Victoria likely to become 'University of Wellington'". Education Central. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  24. ↑ "Victoria Uni rejects fossil fuel investment".
  25. ↑ "University VC lambasts inaction over climate change". Radio New Zealand. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  26. ↑ "Consultation on setting New Zealand's post-2020 climate change target" (PDF).
  27. ↑ "The WREDA board > WellingtonNZ.com". www.wellingtonnz.com. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  28. ↑ "Grant Guilford – New Zealand China Council". New Zealand China Council. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
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