Rate My Professor Anne-Marie Jackson

Anne-Marie Jackson is a Kaupapa Māori Professor in the School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences within the Division of Sciences at the University of Otago. She earned a Bachelor of Physical Education (Honours), Master of Physical Education, PhD in Māori Studies and Physical Education, Diploma in Te Ara Reo Māori, and Diploma in Te Pīnakitanga ki Te Reo Kairangi from the University of Otago. Her research centres on Māori health and well-being, investigating the connections between wai (water), moana (ocean), and mātauranga Māori to foster mauri ora (flourishing health). She tackles health, social, and environmental challenges affecting Māori communities through initiatives like the Coastal People: Southern Skies Centre of Research Excellence, which links communities with interdisciplinary research to restore coastal ecosystems and community health. Jackson's scholarship integrates te ao Māori worldview, te Tiriti o Waitangi, and kaupapa Māori principles in applied hauora Māori.

Beginning her career as a lecturer at Otago in 2011, Jackson progressed to Associate Professor and Professor. In 2013, she co-founded Te Koronga, a kaupapa Māori research and teaching group that evolved into a University of Otago Research Theme, now co-led with Dr Chanel Phillips and Mr Danny Poa to nurture Māori research excellence from undergraduate to beyond. She directs the Centre of Indigenous Science, developing an Indigenous science curriculum rooted in mātauranga Māori and mātauranga o te Moana nui a Kiwa, and co-leads programmes including Te Tiaki Mahinga Kai on customary fisheries and Tangaroa Ara Rau on Māori water safety. Her accolades include the 2020 University of Otago Rowheath Trust Award and Carl Smith Medal for early-career research, the 2019 Royal Society Te Apārangi Te Kōpūnui Māori Research Award, and the Ako Aotearoa National Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award in the Kaupapa Māori category. Notable publications encompass her 2011 PhD thesis Ki Uta Ki Tai: He Taoka Tuku Iho; Enhancing health outcomes for Māori elders through an intergenerational cultural exchange and physical activity programme (2023, Frontiers in Public Health); Waka, whanaungatanga and water safety (2023, Journal of Sport for Development); and guest editorship of MAI Journal's special issue Tēnei tātou Te Koronga Māori research excellence (2023). Of Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu o Whangaroa, and Ngāti Wai affiliations, her contributions elevate mātauranga Māori in sciences and promote global indigenous collaborations.