Professor Dave Harper
BA (Hons) (Otago), MA, PhD (Cant)
Professor Dave Harper was appointed to the Trust Board in 2019.
Dave joined Te Herenga Waka –Victoria University of Wellington in 1994 as a lecturer in Psychology and was promoted to Professor in 2013. Over his career, he has held a range of senior academic leadership roles, including Head of the School of Psychology, Deputy and Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Dean of several faculties, notably the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering. He is currently the inaugural Dean of Te Pukenga Wai – Faculty of Education, Health and Psychological Sciences, a new interdisciplinary faculty bringing together expertise in education, health and the psychological sciences.
His research background is in behavioural pharmacology and cognitive processes, with work spanning the effects of drugs of abuse on cognition, the comparative roles of serotonin and dopamine in memory and learning, and the development of experimental models to explore attention, decision-making and behavioural control.
Dave has a strong interest in building partnerships that advance health, wellbeing and technological innovation. As a trustee of the Malaghan Institute, Dave brings deep experience in university governance, research strategy, organisational development and cross‑sector collaboration – focused on translating excellent science into better health outcomes for Aotearoa New Zealand.