Professor Des Graydon
- Dean of the Faculty of Business
- Pro Vice Chancellor International
"When I joined the Faculty of Business more than 20 years ago, the business education market was already competitive and we were looking for our niche. We've come along way since then, and have even been described as supplying the best interdisciplinary undergraduate degree on the planet.
"The Faculty is going to build its reputation on the quality of its graduates. Our aim for students is that they will be confident, capable learners. To learn you have to do more than just listen - you have to 'do'. That's why at the Faculty of Business we make our classes interactive and use examples based on real-world business to provide a rich curriculum.
Our approach is that scholarship is both about understanding complex information, and knowing how to apply that knowledge. The success of graduates, and the high regard in which they are held by employers, tells us the capabilities and knowledge they gain through our curriculum, teaching and research are meeting their needs."
Profile:
Professor Des Graydon
Professor Des Graydon has been the Dean of the Faculty of Business since 1990. Des, who is a Chartered Accountant and member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in New Zealand (ICANZ), completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Auckland in 1971.
After a successful career in management and chartered accounting, Des began his academic career in 1980 when he became a lecturer in accountancy at AUT. In 1984 he became the Head of the Accountancy and Law Department, before being appointed as the Dean six years later.
Under Des’ leadership, the faculty has developed its innovative approach to business education which was first demonstrated in 1992 when the faculty launched its undergraduate degree. The Bachelor of Business provides students with a rich curriculum, enquiry-based learning, an interdisciplinary first year, work placement experience, and international exchange opportunities. The degree’s ten majors cover all the key business disciplines and employers across NewZealand and around the world are now benefiting from the faculty’s graduates.
Since 1992, the faculty has been completely transformed from its former focus on certificate and diploma programmes. Over this time the Faculty of Business has developed its current programme profile of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, including the Bachelor of Business, Bachelor of Computer and Information Sciences, Bachelor of Business with Honours, Master of Business, Master of Computer and Information Science, Master of Business Administration and PhD. Research development and the supervision and training of research students has been a strong emphasis in faculty development through professorial and other senior academic appointments.
Professor Graydon has a personal chair in Business in recognition of his academic contribution to business education and his international standing as a leader in that field. He was applauded for the innovative educational approaches he has initiated and the high reputation the Faculty at AUT has achieved under his academic leadership.
Des is also the Pro Vice-Chancellor International at AUT. In that capacity, he is responsible for providing strategic direction to grow the University's relationships with the international community, and encourage international collaboration in research and teaching, student and staff exchanges.
Contacts:
Professor Des Graydon
Dean, Faculty of Business
Pro Vice-Chancellor International
Ph: (09) 917 9870
Fax: (09) 917 9876
Email: des.graydon@aut.ac.nz
EA to Professor Graydon
Eloise de Lautour
Ph: (09) 921 9999 ext 5353
Fax: (09) 921 9876
Email: edelauto@aut.ac.nz
| 
