Thomas Kenneth Prebble (November 1945 – 17 January 2021) was a New Zealand educationalist and university administrator.

Biography

Born in Sussex, England, on 29 November 1945, Prebble was the son of Anglo-Catholic Anglican clergyman Kenneth Ralph Prebble and Mary Prebble (née Hoad). He moved to New Zealand in 1948 with his parents, older brother John, and younger brother

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

, when his father became vicar of Northcote parish in Auckland. John Prebble became a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

and professor of law at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Z ...

, Richard Prebble became a politician, and their younger brother, Mark Prebble, became the senior public servant of New Zealand. After a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in education administration, completed in 1975 at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Ruth ...

in Canada, Prebble was appointed a senior lecturer in the Department of Education at

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural o ...

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

, New Zealand. In 1986, he became the director of extramural studies at Massey, and in 1999 he was appointed the university's inaugural principal extramural and international. In 2002, he stood down from his administrative roles at Massey and was appointed to the Department of Social and Policy Studies in Education, retiring in 2004. He was promoted to full professor in 1994, and was conferred with the title of

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

on his retirement. Prebble was involved in establishing Massey's postgraduate programme in educational administration, the first in New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2015, he was a board member and director of Ako Aotearoa, the national centre for tertiary teaching excellence, and he also served on the councils of

Otago Polytechnic Otago Polytechnic was a public New Zealand tertiary education institute, centred in Dunedin with additional campuses in Cromwell and Auckland. Otago Polytechnic provided career-focused education and training, offering a range of New Zealand accr ...

and

UCOL The Universal College of Learning (UCOL) is a New Zealand Government ITP (Industry Training Provider/Polytechnic) located primarily in Palmerston North but has campuses also in Whanganui, Masterton and Levin. Dr Linda Sissons is the current Ch ...

. He was elected a Fellow of the New Zealand Educational Administration Society in 1994. In the 2019 New Zealand Honours, Prebble was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to tertiary education. He died in Palmerston North on 17 January 2021, aged 75.

References

1945 births 2021 deaths People from Sussex English emigrants to New Zealand University of Alberta alumni Massey University faculty New Zealand educational theorists Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit {{NewZealand-bio-stub