Professor Giselle Byrnes is Provost at Massey University, New Zealand, where she is responsible for providing strategic leadership to advance research and enterprise activities, support learning and teaching and maintaining academic quality assurance across the University. In her role as Provost, Giselle is also responsible for advancing a high-quality research culture, supporting Massey’s national and international research collaborations, driving excellence in teaching and academic development and maintaining the University’s leadership in distance, online and blended education. Giselle is an internationally recognized historian and her major research contributions have centered on the dynamics and politics of settler-indigenous histories, public histories and the politics of national history-writing.

An experienced leader in the higher education sector, Giselle has senior management experience in universities in both Australia and New Zealand. She has a strong commitment to advancing initiatives that enhance equity and access in higher education and is an advocate for the critical role played by universities in creating social and cultural capital which drives public benefits and economic wellbeing.