Obituary - Mr John Jennings

It is with much sadness that AQA marks the recent passing of its former Director, Mr John Jennings, on 3 October 2015 in Christchurch. John was the second Director of AQA (then the New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit) from 2002 until his retirement in early 2010. Previously he had been the Quality Assurance Facilitator, the Dean of Arts, and Head of the School of Music at the University of Canterbury.

AQA has received many emails and messages from colleagues of John, both in New Zealand and overseas, conveying their immense sadness at his death. Very clear from these messages is the depth of the regard in which John was held. John’s respect for universities’ staff, students and intellectual contribution was genuine and profound. In turn, staff who interacted with John came to respect his loyalty, his dedication to his work and to his family, and his strong belief in the mission of universities. He was a respected colleague and good friend to many.

On the occasion of John’s retirement in February 2010, the Chair of the NZUAAU Board (Emeritus Professor David Mackay) paid tribute: “John has done a huge amount to define what quality assurance means in a university context and to ensure that it is embedded into university processes and procedures. … He has done it through patient application and demonstration: through the robust and common-sensical audit processes he has put in place and the scholarly application of theory and practice in published papers and conference presentations. … John has been a flagholder for quality assurance in universities and his role in this sense is widely acknowledged and respected. …”

At his funeral, colleague Dr Brian Pritchard recounted John’s transition from being an assistant lecturer in Music at the University of Canterbury to being Director of the [then] NZUAAU. In his early years as an academic, John held a number of University committee positions, culminating in Dean of Arts, then the largest faculty of the University – twice. Through all these experiences John became aware of the issue of academic quality and its assessment and of the importance of good administration and sympathetic leadership. “Then, in 1996 the newly-formed New Zealand Universities Academic Audit Unit conducted its first audit of the University of Canterbury as an institution. This searching audit was based on the principle of quality assurance, and that principle answered many of John’s concerns. Quality assurance meant processes of scrutiny which should ensure and assure that the institution was fit for purpose; that the institution did what it set out in its statement of objectives, and if that was not the case, the institution was to improve its operation to achieve a match. Impressed, John educated himself on all aspects of quality assurance processes and practices and particularly the concept that assurance was not just for the institution itself and its personnel but for all stakeholders – funders in particular (the government - and thus taxpayers).

“On the basis of this over-riding interest and self-preparation in the concept of quality assurance, John’s professional career was about to change radically. In 1995, 1996 and 1997 he was a university representative on NZ Qualifications Authority degree approval and accreditation panels. Then, in 1999, John was appointed Canterbury’s first Quality Assurance Facilitator. This pioneering position involved the development of performance indicators in the University’s first institutional plan for quality assurance in living memory; it involved a re-designed annual report that focussed on the achievement of the university’s stated objectives; it involved the preparation of the university’s submission for the next external audit by the NZ Universities Academic Audit Unit in 2000. And perhaps most critical of all, there had to be persuasive introduction of the concepts of institutional quality assurance and strategic planning to the University’s senior management and heads of departments.”

"In mid-2001 the Director of the New Zealand Academic Audit Unit resigned. John was the successful applicant and took up the role at the beginning of 2002. John’s directorship over the next eight years saw one cycle (Cycle 3) completed and the first four audits of the succeeding cycle (Cycle 4), as well as ancillary reports and manuals for the conduct of audits. Under John’s directorship the audits of the NZUAAU had become a reassuring measure of this country’s universities upholding ‘higher education’, the concept that university education was distinctive and special through its responsibilities to research and research-informed teaching.”

Music was John’s personal and professional passion. He performed, explored, explained and taught the various facets of music; he recorded its history in New Zealand and he contributed to the affairs of many of New Zealand’s musical institutions. Dr Pritchard concluded his tribute by noting, “and John made music of a quite different sort – he composed a counterpoint in which themes of integrity, honesty, openness, clarity of thinking and vision, sense of purpose, strength, and understanding were interwoven as he worked tirelessly through his beloved quality assurance to enhance and reiterate the status, standing and achievement of ‘the university’ in our national profile.”

Our deepest sympathies go to John’s family and we thank him for the significant contribution he made to the university sector throughout his career.

Dr Jan Cameron
Director, Academic Quality Agency for New Zealand Universities on behalf of the Staff and Board of AQA

20 October 2015