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<\/a>Vaivaimalemalo Dr Michael Fusi Ligaliga<\/p><\/div>\n
Dr Michael Ligaliga was raised in Upolu, Samoa, and attended school in both Samoa and Auckland.\u00a0 He them moved to Hawai’i to pursue undergraduate study at Brigham Young University in Hawai’i, graduating in Political Science and International Peace Building.\u00a0 He first came to Dunedin in 2011, undertaking a PGDipArts at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, followed by an MA.<\/p>\n
Michael then moved back to Hawai’i where he taught at BYU-H, and was for a time the acting Director of the David O. McKay Center for Intercultural Understanding.\u00a0 He then returned to Otago in 2015 to enrol in his PhD at the NCPCS, with Dr Heather Devere as his primary supervisor.\u00a0 Not only is Michael the first Pacific Islands doctoral student<\/a> to graduate from the Centre, but his thesis was deemed to be \u2018exceptional\u2019 (i.e. when all the examiners of a candidate\u2019s thesis agree that the thesis is among the top 10% of theses examined.)<\/p>\n Michael’s research focuses on domestic and family violence through a Peace and Conflict Studies lens, and the application of Peace and Conflict theories to aspects of Pacific societies.\u00a0 In particular he played with Galtung’s Typology of Violence to highlight the “invisible” nature of societal violence.\u00a0 Michael will continue to pursue and publish this research while he is here in Te Tumu.<\/p>\n This year the university is trialing a new co-taught paper at summer school (PACR101) designed to help integrate new Pasifika students into the university lifestyle and community.\u00a0 Michael arrived in January, and was straight into the classroom teaching these students.\u00a0 This year he will be giving some guest lectures in PACI101 “Pacific Societies” and PACI201″Contemporary Pacific Islands Issues”, and in Semester Two he will teaching PACI410 “Pacific Leadership” and PACI310, a special topic based on his doctoral research.<\/p>\n Michael is pleased to be back “home” in Dunedin, as are his wife Faalima and their daughter and son, Joanie and Leahcim.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr Gianna Leoni<\/p><\/div>\n Dr Gianna Leoni (Ngati Kuri and Ngai Takoto) is well-known to almost anyone associated with Te Tumu.\u00a0 She is a former Tumuaki (President) of Te Roopu M\u0101ori (in 2013), and undertook her BA(Hons) at Te Tumu, as well as her MA and PhD.\u00a0 Her PhD, written in te reo M\u0101ori, looked at the use of te reo in government departments.\u00a0 She has also been a tutor and senior tutor, research assistant, teaching fellow, and a co-editor of Te K\u014dparapara<\/em><\/a>, Te Tumu’s MAOR102 textbook.<\/p>\n<\/a>