Books by Reynold Macpherson
Still Approaching My Prime: An Autobiography
Still Approaching My Prime: An Autobiography tells the remarkable life story of Dr. Reynold Macpherson, who began life on a marginal New Zealand dairy farm.
The renowned researcher, teacher, and author attended teachers’ training college, volunteered for part-time military service alongside his early teaching roles, visited Scotland and England to research his Anglo-Celtic roots, and served in the Black Watch and Parachute Regiment before starting an academic career.
This memoir clarifies the author’s intellectual long march that helped advance theory and practice in educative leadership, which went on to win international recognition.
His contributions have led to policy reforms in educational administration internationally, as well as the turn-around of a polytechnic, the start-up of a university in the Middle East, post-conflict reconstruction in Timor-Leste, and a ten-year defense of democracy in the local government of Rotorua.
After all this, he is still approaching his prime. His next book will be titled Ethics and Educative Leadership.
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The Institute
The Institute of Inspectors of Schools of New South Wales was established on 14 January 1914. It incorporated the traditions of the “inspectorial system” developed by William Wilkins, the first permanent district superintendent and inspector of schools appointed by the National Board of Education on 1 July 1854. Although the inspectorate was abolished on 1 April 1990, the Institute of Senior Educational Administrators continued to provide industrial coverage for chief education officers and to serve as their professional association. This history is a sociological and political examination of an organizational entity and the power it exerted in NSW public education over the last 100 years. Reynold Macpherson is a retired professor in New Zealand who does consultancies around the world.
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Confidence in Adversity: A Biography of Guy MacPherson
Confidence in Adversity: A Biography of Guy Macpherson tells the compelling story of a quintessential New Zealander born to English parents and raised in rural poverty between the world wars by his father and Maori stepmother. With only a minimal education, he devoted many decades of his life to political reforms, biculturalism, rural education, and adult literacy. Guy Macpherson’s finishing school was the 27th Machine Gun Battalion, fighting in pitched battles in Greece, Crete, and North Africa during World War II. He returned home with PTSD, bought the family “home farm,” married his wartime sweetheart, and raised four boys. His marriage collapsed as his off-farm interests expanded and his first family scattered. His second significant relationship centered on his strong interest in the fine arts, but also collapsed when some of his campaigns ended badly. He married again and had two more boys, shifting his public contributions to local government, rural educational activities, and adult literacy. This biography evaluates the impact that Guy had on others, especially his sons, and the valuable contributions he made to society. Based on careful research and analysis, the book traces the long-unrealized effects of Guy’s PTSD, his lifelong passion for self-improvement, the gradual transformation of his driving ideologies, and his most endearing characteristic that lasted until near the end: his confidence through adversity. Guy Macpherson was born in 1918 and died in 2003.
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Lovers and Husbands and What-Not: A Biography of Margaret L. MacPherson
Who is this woman? She was born in Leeds, U.K., died in Kaitaia, New Zealand, and appears in both the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography and the Bibliography of Australian Literature… She was raised a Quaker, converted to and campaigned for Islam, had a life-long interest in spiritualism and died a devout Catholic… She made a foundational contribution to socialist feminist journalism in The Maoriland Worker using the principles of Christian socialism and Leninist-Marxism… She was an associate of Pat Lawlor and Robin Hyde, helped lead the New Zealand Movement against War and Fascism before World War Two and then made a significant contribution to the American War Effort in the US during the war… Answer: Margaret L. Macpherson. Lovers and Husbands and What-not is Margaret Macpherson’s biography as written by her grandson.
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About the Author
Reynold Macpherson completed his Ph.D. at Monash University, served as a Senior Lecturer at the University of New England, and was an Associate Professor at the University of Tasmania. He was Professor and Director of the Centre of Professional Development at the University of Auckland before serving as CEO of Waiariki Institute of Technology. He was then Foundational Chancellor, CEO, and Professor of Strategic Management at Abu Dhabi University. The author has held a range of international consultancies since retirement and has published 18 books and 72 research papers.
