Prestigious honour for former teacher

Former Masterton teacher Jean McCombie has been lauded for her work as an educator in the 2013 UCOL Council Honours.

Ms McCombie, a past Wairarapa Community Polytechnic chief executive, is to be made an Honorary Associate of UCOL.

The award is made to people who have made a significant and distinguished contribution to the life and work of UCOL or to the wider community, says UCOL Council chairman Trevor Goodwin.

As chief executive of the former community polytechnic, Ms McCombie worked closely with UCOL before its merger with the polytechnic in 2001 and as chairwoman of Wairarapa REAP (Rural Education Activities Programme) she continues that association, he said.

Mr Goodwin described as "longstanding and substantial" Ms McCombie's contribution to the wider community and her commitment to education in the Wairarapa region.

"She was a leader in the Community Action Programme team that initiated the provision of tertiary education in the Wairarapa. This led to the opening of the Wairarapa Community Polytechnic in 1989, built on what is now the UCOL campus," he said.

Ms McCombie had supported the merger with UCOL to ensure ongoing tertiary education provision in the region and worked with great commitment to help ensure its success, Mr Goodwin said, and she was passionate about education at all levels.

"Earlier in her career she was a secondary school teacher. She was also part of the team that that planned and set up the Ko Te Aroha early childhood and education centre in Masterton, with the philosophy that parents learn alongside their children."

Mr Goodwin said Ms McCombie was the inaugural chairwoman of the Wairarapa REAP (Rural Education Activities programme) and remains in that role, as well as being chairwoman of REAP Aotearoa New Zealand. She was also co-ordinator of a paper and several hui about Wairarapa education providers working cohesively and collaboratively.

The honour will be conferred on Ms McCombie at the UCOL Wairarapa graduation ceremony on Thursday.