John Hinchcliff

Hinchcliff was born in Wairoa on 9 October 1939, the son of Frank and Gwen Hinchcliff. He was educated at Nelson College from 1953 to 1958, where he was head prefect in his final year, and was a member of the school's 1st XV rugby union and first XI cricket teams. He then studied at the University of Canterbury, where he earned a Master of Arts (Hons) in philosophy. He was awarded a Rotary Foundation Fellowship, providing funding for a year anywhere in the world, choosing to go to the Middle East. The couple went on to have six children. In 1984, Hinchcliff was appointed principal of the Auckland Technical Institute (ATI). He worked to transition ATI from a polytechnic to a university, and this was eventually agreed to by the government in 1999. ATI duly became a university from 1 January 2000, renaming itself as Auckland University of Technology (AUT). It was the first New Zealand polytechnic to become a university. From 2000 to 2003, Hinchcliff was vice-chancellor of AUT. Hinchcliff was an Auckland City Councillor for three years. He represented the Tamaki-Maungakiekie Ward for the Labour Party from 2004 to 2007. In 2007 he stood unsuccessfully for Mayor of Auckland, placing fourth. ==Honours and recognition==

In 1990, Hinchcliff was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was promoted to Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, also for services to education. In 2006, Hinchcliff received an honorary doctorate from AUT. In 2014, he was conferred the title of emeritus vice-chancellor by AUT, in recognition of his role in transitioning that institution into a university. ==Personal life and family==

Hinchcliff has suffered from vision loss in later life, having both macular degeneration and glaucoma. His sister Margaret is married to former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer. In 2009 his son, Edward, collapsed suddenly in public, later dying of a brain aneurysm. ==Notes==