The University of Waikato has welcomed its first-ever Pacific Scholar in Residence.
It is a homecoming of sorts for alum Professor Fui Asofou So’o, who will spend the next three months on campus guest lecturing, engaging with staff and students, and writing the second volume of his constitutional history of Samoa.
L-R: Assistant Vice-Chancellor Pacific Dr Keakaokawai (Keaka) Varner Hemi, Professor Fui Asofou So’o and Dean of Law Professor Tafaoimalo Tologata Leilani Tuala-Warren
Professor So’o’s journey with the University of Waikato began in 1977, when he was awarded a scholarship from the Samoan government to attend Hamilton Teachers College.
He went on to complete a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Arts before a stint spent teaching in Tokoroa.
He then started studying towards his master’s degree at the University, graduating in 1989 before returning to Samoa.
“It feels good to be back, a lot of major changes since I was here last time. This building [The Pā] wasn’t here then, there was no Faculty of Law, there was no Division of Health – a lot of changes for the better,”
Professor So’o said his return came about from a conversation with Vice-Chancellor Professor Neil Quigley during a visit to Samoa last year.
“I have a soft spot for the University, having been here in the late ‘70s and ‘80s. It was here that I had the first impression of being away from Samoa, and of university study, so there’s always that connection. “
While Professor So’o is at the University, he’ll be based in Te Piringa Faculty of Law, where he’ll guest lecture and meet with staff and students.
“I would like to connect with our Pacific community; there are a lot of issues in relation to cultural development to discuss. The space between different Pacific cultures, that conversation has always been interesting to me, we now have a much wider community.”
Professor So’o notes when he was first a student at the University, he was one of only a few Pacific students. By the time he came back in 1987 to study for his master’s, the numbers had already grown.
“It has kept expanding over the 48 years since I first started here.”
Assistant Vice-Chancellor Pacific Dr Keakaokawai (Keaka) Varner Hemi acknowledged that it’s humbling to have someone of Professor So’o’s “chiefliness” on campus.
He served as the Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Samoa for ten years, and in 2017 was the recipient of a University of Waikato Distinguished Alumni Award. He also holds 10 matai titles from the different families and villages of his parents.
“It is perhaps a sign of maturity that the University is at a point where we can have a scholar of his stature here.”
Dr Hemi is hoping that as a renowned researcher, Professor So’o will be a “light and example” to new and emerging scholars that are doing their PhDs.
“These young ones still coming up, it can show them that research is something they might want to think about.
“In academia, we've known for a while we don’t have enough Māori and Pacific professors, or lecturers. We know we must grow them at this young age. You might never think of it, most of us stumbled into it,” she says.
For the next three months while Professor So’o is back on his old stomping ground, he’s looking forward to contributing to not only the University’s development but also the Pacific community’s.
