From working as a nurse to leading the health faculty of a large university, Cathy Andrew has always been committed to helping people thrive.
She says her pathway to becoming executive dean of the faculty of health at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha — University of Canterbury was unconventional.
“I’ve never studied full-time at a university, and I’ve never studied on-site as a university student. For my bachelor’s, my master’s, and my PhD, I lived in a different location to where I was studying, and I studied part-time while working full-time, so I haven’t had the traditional academic history that most people have when they’re in an executive dean role.”
During Andrew’s nursing career, she worked in mental health, in the intensive care unit at Christchurch Hospital, and in private cardiothoracic care in London.
She says she enjoyed supporting patients at pivotal moments in their lives. “I like people, and I want them to live their best life, no matter what’s going on for them.
‘A challenge and a privilege’
“As a nurse you see the fragility of human existence at its most raw, you’re with people in happy times and with people who are facing life-changing events, for themselves and their family members. So that’s a challenge and a privilege all mixed into one.”
Andrew moved into the education sector in 1993, lecturing for several years before becoming head of nursing at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (now Ara Institute of Canterbury).
‘As a nurse you see the fragility of human existence at its most raw’
She started at the University of Canterbury in the school of health sciences in 2020. The university established the faculty of health in 2021 with Andrew, an associate professor, as acting executive dean, and she says it still feels new and exciting.
A highlight for her has been supporting the development of a new master of health sciences (nursing) course as an accredited and Nursing Council-approved graduate-entry programme, with the first cohort of students starting last year.
The course offers people with an undergraduate health-related degree the opportunity to apply to become a registered nurse (RN) after two years of full-time study, instead of the usual three-year nursing degree.
This year the university will start advanced practice nursing programmes for RN prescribers and nurse practitioners, she says.
Courses all ‘blended delivery’
“All our courses are offered via blended delivery [both online and in-person] on a platform called Tuihono UC | UC Online – the nursing team describe it as blended learning on steroids.
“It means we can offer nursing to new students and RNs living in areas such as Marlborough Sounds, Golden Bay and Central Otago with clinical providers supporting the students locally. This is a great opportunity to diversify the workforce and make education accessible and more affordable, regardless of where a student lives.”
Her own experience of studying by distance as a young person in Nelson gave her a passion for equity in education.
“I feel very strongly that people living regionally and rurally should have the ability to access a university education if that’s what they want. It’s not cheap to get a tertiary education and if you add accommodation and travel on top, it’s a barrier for a lot of people.
“As an institution, we have a responsibility to use education technologies and everything available to ensure people can access what we’re offering,” Andrew says.
‘I feel very strongly that people living regionally and rurally should have the ability to access a university education if that’s what they want.’
Andrew is committed to programmes that boost Aotearoa New Zealand’s health workforce, and her significant contribution to nursing education was recognised when she was a made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2023 King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours.
She says it was a huge surprise to receive the email from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet informing her of the honour and initially she thought the message was spam. She says she’s been lucky with the opportunities that have come her way.
Chair of NETS
Her career has spanned New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the South Pacific. She has served as chair of the Nursing Education in the Tertiary Sector (NETS) network for several years and been a trustee of the Nurse Maude Association since 2013, as well as consulting on nursing education nationally for the Nursing Council of New Zealand.
One of the highlights of the executive dean role at the University of Canterbury is being part of graduation ceremonies and seeing students achieve their qualifications.
“I’ll call out a name and I know the backstory for that person and their whānau, what’s led to them being able to walk across the stage, and it can be quite emotional – your eyes well up.”
Outside of work she is a dedicated family person. “That’s what I love doing, spending time with my family. So that’s my happy place outside of work.”
She says studying through university’s faculty of health is an excellent pathway for those who like engaging with people — as well as nursing, it offers qualifications in social work, psychology, counselling, and speech and language pathology, along with sport and sport science.
“It’s a really fantastic blend and there’s so much bouncing of ideas between the different teams to inform teaching and research,” Andrew says. “If you want to make a difference in the lives of others then health is a really good place to be. It’s about finding your niche because there is such variety.”