Rate My Professor Kerry Buchan

With more than 30 years of experience in event coordination and management, Kerry Buchan has organized over 100 major events, including academic conferences, civic gatherings, medical symposiums, corporate functions, festivals, anniversaries, and reunions. In 2017, she took on the part-time role of Project Coordinator for the University of Otago's 150th celebrations within the Development and Alumni Relations Office, curating a cohesive calendar of events for the 2019 milestone. She emphasized the execution challenges, noting, “Having an idea is easy. Executing the idea is the difficult part,” while advocating for holistic planning. An alumnus of the University of Otago, Kerry maintains strong family ties to the institution; her late husband, Glenn “Buck” Buchan, was a leading immunologist in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and her father, uncles, brothers, sisters, husband, and three sons are also graduates. Beyond her university duties, she works part-time as Marketing Manager for Orokonui Ecosanctuary, serves as a founding trustee of the Dunedin Wildlife Trust, and has represented the University of Otago in community initiatives such as the Wild Dunedin festival.