Alumni Excellence Awards

The Alumni Excellence Awards honour University alumni who have made outstanding contributions to their professions, their communities, and to their nation.

Read about the past recipients of the alumni awards.

Who gives the award?

Massey University Alumni Relations bestow the awards. 

An Alumni Excellence Award Selection Panel selects recipients and includes the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Students and Global Engagement (DVC SaGE), Executive Director Marketing and Communication, a representative from the University Council, and a College representative. 

Award categories

There are two categories: Alumni Excellence and Young Alumni.  The Young Alumni is for individuals up to 35 years of age at the date of nomination.  Multiple awards may be given in any year.   

The Sir Geoffrey Peren award is awarded periodically to an alumna or alumnus who has made significant and ongoing contributions to business or professional life, as well as meritorious service to the university, community or nation.  They are a true leader, visionary and highly respected in their field of expertise. A previous winner of an Alumni Excellence Award is eligible for a Sir Geoffrey Peren award.  The usual application process is not required for this award, but recommendations for awardees can be sent to the Alumni Office.  The Vice-Chancellor makes the final decision on the award. 

Nominate alumni

Do you know a University alumna or alumnus who is achieving amazing things? Nominate them for a 2026 Alumni Excellence Award. 

The awards at a glance

Massey University bestow the bi-annual Alumni Excellence Awards to honour alumni who have made outstanding contributions to their professions, their communities, and nation. 

Additionally, a Young Alumnus/Alumna of the Year Award will be presented. Nominees should be 35 years of age or younger on the closing date of nominations and have demonstrated outstanding achievement according to the Alumni Excellence Awards criteria listed below. 

What achievements are eligible? 

There are no limits to the nature of a nominee’s achievements or contributions. However, the following criteria will be considered when selecting winners : 

• Demonstrates significant accomplishments in business or their professional life.
• Attained prominence through their efforts in commerce, industry, technology, agriculture, the arts, education, government or other worthy endeavours.
• Specific and meritorious service to the university, community or nation, including assistance to disadvantaged groups or individuals.
• Exhibits integrity and a demonstrated commitment to service through an interest in bettering the lives of others. 

A condition of acceptance is that the nominee must be able to attend the Alumni Excellence Awards celebration in person to receive the award. 

Please note: A nominee not selected for an award is eligible for consideration for the next round of nominations. 

The recipients of the Alumni Excellence Awards will be honoured at an annually held celebration which may be a dinner or networking breakfast. 

Alumni Excellence Award winners will be presented with a medallion and certificate. They will feature in communications prepared by Massey University, included on the Massey University Alumni Relations website and may be included in the Annual Report or other forms of communication and marketing. 

Nomination criteria

The nominee must hold a degree or diploma from Massey University.

At the time of the nomination the nominee should not be:

• An employee of, or contractor to Massey University
• A member of the University Council or any standing committee of Massey University
• A member of the Alumni Excellence Award Selection Panel of Massey University
• A sitting politician
• A recipient of an Honorary Doctorate or other Honorary qualification from Massey University 
• An Emeritus Professor

The nomination process

A nomination can be made by an individual or a group. If more than one nomination is submitted by the same person or group, each submission must be made separately. Alumni can also self-nominate but they must provide at least one referee to support their nomination. 

The decision of the selection panel is final and no correspondence will be entered into. 

Confidentiality and Background Checks

All nominations and information submitted, either online or direct to the Alumni Office, are confidential. 

Nominators must respect the confidentiality process and not advise the nominee of their submission to avoid any embarrassment should the nominee not be selected for an award. 

Massey University reserves the right to complete any necessary background checks on the nominee as part of the decision-making process using publicly available information. 

Forfeiture of Award

Examples include (but are not limited to) situations where the holder of an honour is sentenced to more than three months in prison, and: 

• the offence involved damages the reputation of Massey University; or 
• the offence involved other disgraceful conduct such that public opinion would consider it wrong for the offender to hold a Massey University honour (bringing the honours system into disrepute)

Nominate online

Make a nomination for 2026 using our online nomination form. Nominations close on 31 March 2026 with successful nominees notified by letter from 30 June 2026.

Additional enquiries should be directed to:

Email: alumni@massey.ac.nz