Academic staff at a South Island university are livid after a future tertiary boss went undercover posing as a report writer before he took the top job.
Around 20 staff were interviewed by a "visiting academic" preparing a report for Lincoln University council about concerns at the southern campus.
Tertiary Education Union local organiser Cindy Doull said it wasn't until the end of the interview horrified staff were told the academic's true identity, Professor Robin Pollard, their future boss.
Pollard also told shocked staff he was the preferred candidate for the vacant vice-chancellor job, a position he has since taken.
The union said many staff felt they had been duped after being open and frank to the "report writer" about concerns they had with the university.