{"id":4185,"date":"2026-02-27T13:16:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T00:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/thesheet\/?p=4185"},"modified":"2026-05-12T09:40:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T21:40:54","slug":"hod-changeover-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/thesheet\/hod-changeover-dinner\/","title":{"rendered":"HOD changeover dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Head of Department changeover dinner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After three (tumultuous) years guiding the department, Professor Peter Dearden has stepped aside from his role as Head of Department to refocus on research and teaching. Professor Julian Eaton-Rye has taken over as HOD, starting in December last year.
To mark the transition, staff recently gathered for dinner at Plato\u2019s, a quirky waterfront restaurant that has often hosted departmental celebrations.
During the evening, Julian, Professor Liz Ledgerwood and Professor Catherine Day shared heartfelt tributes acknowledging Peter\u2019s greatly appreciated contributions, particularly his stewardship throughout the University\u2019s recent financial difficulties. His humour and ability to bring people together were especially valued.
Julian has been part of the department since 1994, with research centred on the plant membrane-protein complex Photosystem II. He brings enthusiasm and a deep commitment to the Otago Biochemistry community as he takes on this leadership role.
Julian inherits a busy period ahead \u2013 among the ongoing challenges is the mixed blessing of increasing undergraduate student numbers. However, there is much to look forward to as the department prepares to welcome three new lecturers in the coming months.
T\u0113n\u0101 rawa atu koe, Peter, and best wishes to Julian as he begins his tenure!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Five<\/a>
Former and current Otago Biochemistry HODs. From left: Prof Warren Tate, Prof Kurt Krause, Prof Julian Eaton-Rye, Prof Sally McCormick, Prof Peter Dearden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a>
Staff from the Otago Department of Biochemistry chat over drinks next to the bar at Plato’s restaurant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Four<\/a>
More photos of staff from the Otago Department of Biochemistry chat over drinks next to the bar at Plato’s restaurant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Three<\/a>
Clockwise from left: Prof Julian Eaton-Rye giving a short speech; Prof Peter Dearden addressing the room; Prof Liz Ledgerwood reading out a letter written by Prof Catherine Day (who was unable to attend in person).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Four<\/a>
Otago Biochemistry staff enjoy dessert at Plato’s restaurant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Head of Department changeover dinner After three (tumultuous) years guiding the department, Professor Peter Dearden has stepped aside from his role as Head of Department to refocus on research and teaching. Professor Julian Eaton-Rye has taken over as HOD, starting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32571,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/thesheet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/thesheet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/thesheet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/thesheet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32571"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/thesheet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/thesheet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4185\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/thesheet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/thesheet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.otago.ac.nz\/thesheet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}