The Bledisloe Medal was established in 1930 by the late Viscount Bledisloe, former Governor-General of New Zealand. It is awarded to a former Lincoln student or a past or current Lincoln staff member who has made an outstanding contribution to his or her chosen field of expertise, advanced New Zealand's interests, and/or brought credit to Lincoln University.  

Award Nomination Criteria

Nominees are assessed on:

• Career achievements
• The economic, scientific, cultural or technological value of their work
• The connection between their work and Lincoln's interests
• The extent to which their achievements reflect on, or have the potential to reflect on, the University's reputation
• The extent to which their achievements have advanced New Zealand's interests.

2024 - Penny Nelson

Penny Nelson was appointed Director-General of the Department of Conservation (DOC) in November 2021, the first woman to reach his significant Crown role.  As a Lincoln alumna who has worked at senior leadership levels in many nationally important land and resource related sectors, Penny has contributed greatly to the country's scientific, economic, cultural and technological domains, well earning her the award of Lincoln University's Bledisloe Medal. 

Read Penny's full citation

2023 - Peter McBride

As Chair of the Board of Directors of dairy industry giant Fonterra, Peter heads the governance of New Zealand's largest exporter of dairy products and one of the largest dairy exporters in the world. Through Fonterra, Peter is certainly advancing New Zealand's interests and as a Lincoln alumnus, Postgraduate Diploma in Commerce 2009, he is clearly bringing credit to this universitynny Nelson was appointed Director-General of the Department of Conservation (DOC) in November 2021, the first woman to reach his significant Crown role.

Read Peter's full citation

2022 - Michael Barker

Michael Barker has made an outstanding contribution to the fields of business, marketing, manufacturing, and horticulture in New Zealand and internationally. As a proud Lincoln alumnus, he has brought credit to the university through his successes, hard work, and contribution to the local economy.

Read Michael's full citation

2021 - Jeff Grant

Jeff Grant has had a long and successful career in the land-based industries in New Zealand. The Lincoln University Diploma in Agriculture graduate farms sheep, beef and deer at Balfour in Southland, and has extensive agribusiness and rural sector leadership experience.

Read Jeff's full citation

More Past recipients