Iain at Opening ceremony of Geography Education conference, Eskişehir, Turkiye 2019

A scholar of place and purpose: Distinguished Professor Emeritus Iain Hay’s global journey from Massey

“Follow your heart, your instinct, your passion – however you want to characterise it.”

That principle has guided Professor Iain Hay throughout a remarkable academic journey – one that began in New Zealand and expanded across the globe. Now Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography at Flinders University, Iain is internationally recognised for his contributions to geography, education, and academic leadership. But his journey began much closer to home – one of the earliest chapters was written here at Massey University.

Born in Whanganui, his family settled in Hamilton when he was six. Later he attended a vibrant and diverse public high school there. “It was one of those moments when many stars aligned to make an extraordinary social, physical, and intellectual learning environment. I have come to realise over the years that many of us there may not have known how lucky we were!”

His introduction to geography was accidental. While in Form 6, the school required students in his class to study an extra subject – originally meant to be history. But two classmates preferred geography and petitioned for the change. Iain didn’t sign the petition, but the result placed him in geography classes through Forms 6 and 7. Though his final school geography teacher offered little direction, the experience proved valuable. “It was not until I got to university that I realised that there may have been some method in his madness. His approach demanded that we take charge of our studies – a skillset that was invaluable at university where there was an equivalent expectation of self-sufficiency.”

After completing high school Iain joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force and with their support completed a degree in Geography at the University of Canterbury. He was subsequently commissioned as a Flying Officer. While he loved the rigour, responsibility, and camaraderie of military service, he wanted to continue academic study. When the Air Force repeatedly declined his requests to pursue Honours, he made the bold decision to leave – a move that required him to repay a substantial training bond. 

Iain completed a 1st class Honours degree at Canterbury and feels very fortunate to have been recruited soon afterwards in 1983 to Massey University as a junior lecturer while enrolling in a Master of Arts by thesis. As blessed as he felt, in order to afford his RNZAF bond repayment he lived frugally, cycling through frosty Manawatū mornings to lectures.

“On some Manawatū winter mornings riding into campus with hands so cold I couldn’t work the bike’s brakes, I really questioned the wisdom of my decision but it was one that changed everything.”

Left: Iain Hay with Research Methods class at Beijing Union University 2007. Right: Iain with AAS National Committee for Georgaphical Sciences at Geography Decadal Plan Launch in Sydney 2018

A formative chapter: teaching, learning, and lasting impressions at Massey

At just 23, Iain was teaching a large first-year geography class at Massey and simultaneously writing a major academic thesis. These early years were transformational, both professionally and personally. “It was a place of genuine collegiality and energy. Staff had morning tea together every day. Postgrads shared lunch, debated ideas, supported each other. It was a socially and intellectually rich environment.” His cohort included now-renowned educators and professionals such as Dr Jane Abbiss, Dale Bailey MNZM, Wally Congdon, and Professor Mike Roche.

Iain’s role at Massey also involved supporting distance students – a responsibility that proved to be one of the most influential aspects of his early teaching career. “I learned that many students needed guidance on skills beyond content, how to write essays, prepare maps, deliver talks, and reference sources.” The practical resources he developed for students laid the groundwork for future innovations in teaching – materials that would eventually shape learning approaches at institutions across the United States and Australia.

His Master’s thesis, completed at Massey, became more than an academic milestone; it became the foundation for his first book. “By the time the MA was finished, it had turned out to be a bit of a monster (in scope and size) to the extent that one staff member who read it said it was really a doctoral thesis.” With the encouragement of his supervisor, Richard Le Heron, Iain submitted the manuscript to Oxford University Press. They accepted it, and the book was published while he was undertaking his doctoral studies in the United States.

Awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and a Graduate Recruitment Fellowship, Iain completed his PhD at the University of Washington. Reflecting on that experience, he describes it as both challenging and transformative. “Getting a Fulbright and a Graduate Recruitment Fellowship to do a PhD at the University of Washington was amazing. While the years in the beautiful US Pacific Northwest so disconnected from wonderful friends and family brought challenges and heartache and heartbreak, the academic and life experience was transformative.”

That chapter helped shape his enduring commitment to education and mentorship. “Amongst these lessons was a realisation of the signal importance of supporting students and early career colleagues, in their studies and life-choices, whatever their ambitions.”

But Iain’s memories of Massey extend far beyond the classroom. His early teaching experiences were filled with moments of humour, growth, and surprise. “I also recall just how carefully one needs to provide written instruction and exercises,” he says. “For instance, as a young man with a fair interest in alcoholic beverages I created a first-year assignment in which numerous fictitious placenames were based on alcohol brand names and drinking paraphernalia (how things have changed). One day I received a letter (yes, through the post) from a student saying they had spent days looking through atlases and reference materials for the ‘Crushed Ice Ocean’ to which I had referred in the assignment. I did feel some sympathy for the student who had spent so much time on this wild goose chase.”

He also vividly remembers his very first day of teaching, which was to a class of extramural students. It brought an unexpected jolt. “Every one of them was older and more worldly than I. I was very apprehensive and that was not diminished when I saw my father – five hours drive from his home in Tauranga – sitting at the back of the room. I had no idea why he would be there. Now, my Dad was a good, though critical, guy. He certainly had no time for fools. And it was a fool that I felt like. It was only after the first half hour of my class that I realised the bloke at the back was a doppelganger for my Dad, and not the real McCoy. That experience really put the wind up me!”

One of his most cherished stories involves a mature student enrolled in one of his mid-1980s classes. The student, a planner based in Napier, had the option to present his assignment creatively. “One day, before a due date, a removal truck arrived on campus containing the student’s masterpiece. The completed work was about 4 metres wide by 2.5 metres high. It was a beautiful, painted canvas, largely in red and white, that examined a local town planning issue in which the student was involved. I recall on visits back to Massey for many years thereafter seeing this work hung as a feature in the hallway of the 2nd floor of the Social Sciences Lecture Block.”

Left: Iain receiving IGU Laureat d'honneur, from IGU President Mike Meadows, Dublin 2024. Right: Iain in Hyderabad, with former IGU President Professor Anne Buttimer and unknown India scholar 2007

A scholar of geography, justice and ethics

Iain’s scholarly work has spanned diverse but interconnected themes: the role of place in human life, the geography of social justice, ethics in academia, and the structures of oppression and marginalisation. 

After the US, Iain moved to Australia and joined Flinders University in Adelaide. There, he built an international academic reputation, contributing to scholarship in areas such as place, power, violence, marginalisation, and social justice. He also became known for his collaborative leadership style and commitment to ethical academic practices.

He is known not only for writing impactful solo-authored works but also for curating high-quality edited collections. “Editing a book is like getting an octopus into a string bag,” he jokes. “It’s messy, unpredictable, but when done right, it brings together a richness of ideas that no single author could achieve.”

Iain’s contributions have been recognised around the world. He received the Australian Prime Minister’s Award for University Teacher of the Year, the American Association of Geographers’ Miller Award, the Laureat d’Honneur from the International Geographical Union, the GeoEthics Medal, and the Australia-International Medal from the Institute of Australian Geographers. He is also a recipient of Massey University’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. “The awards that have meant the most to me are those that recognise, however abstractly, my longer-term commitment to supporting others.”

“It was Massey that gave me my start. To be honoured by the place that launched me means more than I can say.”

Left: Iain and wife Tania, Russell, NZ c 2010. Right: Iain at Taj Mahal, 2018.

Leadership, purpose and looking ahead

Now based in Adelaide, Iain remains actively engaged in academia and professional leadership. He serves as the inaugural Director of the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia, Chair of the Australian Academy of Science’s National Committee for Geographical Sciences, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Flinders University, and Director of the not-for-profit health insurer HCi. He also edits three international book series and sits on multiple journal boards.

His typical week involves early morning walks, office hours filled with writing, strategy, mentorship, and in-person meetings or Zoom calls with colleagues across Australia and beyond. “I look forward to the quiet moments, late afternoon walks with my dog, tending to the garden with my wife, watching a rom-com or British mystery on Netflix. But I still love what I do. It gives me purpose.”

Looking ahead, Iain hopes to return to the travel plans postponed by the pandemic. He dreams of returning to Micronesia for more diving, walking across England, canal boating in France, and canoeing the Whanganui River. “In the meantime, my hobby has become my work,” he laughs, “but eventually I’ll return to some of those adventures.”

He also remains committed to advocating for a balanced academic life that equally honours teaching, research, and service. “I’ve moved across research to teaching to leadership, but they’ve all mattered deeply. I hope universities in the future don’t lose sight of that balance.”

To current Massey students and alumni, Iain offers one final piece of advice: “Follow your heart, your instinct, your passion – however you want to characterise it. It has become pretty apparent to me over the years that the best decisions – the ones I have felt most comfortable about and which have generally turned out for the best – are the ones I have felt ‘at one’ with.” 

Left: Iain at RGSSA Awards night 2025. Right: Iain Hay Massey Awards with former VC Hon Steve Maharey and Hon Steven Joyce - former Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, March 2016