HASSALL, Mrs Susan Jean, ONZM, JP
To be a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to education.
Mrs Susan Hassall was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2021 for her services to education and has since expanded her contributions to the wider sector.
Mrs Hassall was Headmaster of Hamilton Boys’ High School (HBHS) from 1999 until 2024, overseeing many significant academic and sporting successes and growth of the school. Her contributions to education and the wider community were recognised with the Hamilton Kirikiriroa Medal by Hamilton City Council in 2024. Having been on the University of Waikato Council from 2016 and Pro-Chancellor since 2017, she was appointed Chancellor in 2025 and is a member of the University of Waikato Foundation. She contributed to the signing of a kawenata between Waikato-Tainui and the University of Waikato in 2025, setting a foundation for how they will work together on programmes supporting their strategic objectives. She is Chair of Hospice Waikato Trust and was Acting CEO for 10 months from 2024 to 2025, having been on the Board since 2018. She became Deputy Chair of Momentum Waikato in 2026, supporting community development projects and charities, having joined the Board in 2025. She was a founding member of the Association of Boys’ Schools of New Zealand in 2001 and has held several executive offices since 2008. Mrs Hassall has contributed to gifted education through giftEDnz and many years with the Minister’s Advisory Group.
HONOURS
- Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Queen’s Birthday 2021
Back to King’s Birthday Honours List 2026
RATA, Professor Elizabeth Mary
To be a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to education.
Professor Elizabeth Rata is a sociologist of education specialising in research on ethnic politics and curriculum knowledge in New Zealand, with an academic career spanning five decades.
Professor Rata was a member of the 2024 Ministerial Curriculum Advisory Group and contributed to the New Zealand English Curriculum, years 7-13. She is the developer of the Curriculum Design Coherence Model which is used in curriculum studies internationally. She was a foundational member of Kura Kaupapa Māori in the 1980s, and an English teacher in her early career. In 2024 she was appointed to the Charter School/Kura Hourua Establishment (later Authorisation) Board. She has been recognised widely by international institutions, including receiving a Senior Fulbright Scholarship to Georgetown University in 2003 and becoming a member of the European Union Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange Programme in 2013. She has authored numerous academic publications, including ‘A Political Economy of Neotribal Capitalism’ (2000), ‘The Politics of Knowledge in Education’ (2012), and co-authored ‘Academic Achievement in Bilingual and Immersion Education’ (2022). Professor Rata edited the ‘Research Handbook on Curriculum and Education’ (2024), and co-authored ‘Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking: The Knowledge Turn’ (2025).