Visiting Professors
On this page, find contact and expertise details for Visiting Professors at the School of Built Environment.
Rick Herd
Visiting Adjunct Professor (Industry) – School of Built Environment
Rick Herd is Visiting Adjunct Professor (Industry) in the School of Built Environment from 1 April 2022 until 31 December 2024. Rick holds New Zealand Certificate in Civil Engineering and has almost 50 years’ experience in the commercial construction, infrastructure and engineering contracting industries. At the age of 17 Rick started a cadetship with the Ministry of Works, firstly in Christchurch, then in Wellington, where he was involved with the construction of the Wellington motorway and the Ngauranga Gorge interchange (including the first two incrementally launched bridges built in New Zealand). Rick then joined Mainzeal Construction in Wellington, progressing to the role of South Island Manager for Mainzeal Property and Construction, during which time the company did many of Christchurch’s retail developments in the mid-1990s. In 1996, Rick graduated with an MBA while working full time. For the next few years, Rick was based in Nelson where he became CEO of N&B Group (Nalder and Biddle), General Manager LVL of Nelson Pine Industries Ltd and then CEO of Brightwater Engineering. In 2012, Rick became South Island Regional Manager for Hawkins Infrastructure, before being attracted to Naylor Love Construction to take up the role as CEO in January 2013.
Professor Sara Wilkinson
Visiting Adjunct Professor (Academic) – School of Built Environment
Professor Sara Wilkinson is Visiting Adjunct Professor (Academic) in the School of Built Environment from 1 August 2022 until 31 December 2024. Sara has been a Chartered Building Surveyor for over 36 years and is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). She is a member of the Australian Property Institute (API) and Australia’s first female Professor of Property. Before becoming an academic, Sara worked in the public and private sectors for seven years. Sara worked in building certification and school maintenance for the GLC (Greater London Council) and ILEA (Inner London Education Authority. Sara worked in the private sector undertaking pre and post-contract administration of public sector housing retrofit, undertaking technical due diligence and party wall work.
In 1991 Sara entered the education sector at Sheffield Hallam University, where, with colleagues, she established the Building Surveying Degree programme. In 1996, Sara graduated with an MPhil exploring the conceptual understanding of green building. She completed an MA in Social Science Research Methods in 2002 and a PhD in 2011 on Building Adaptation. Sara has taught in four universities in the UK and Australia since 1991, developing courses and leading subject groups in Building Surveying and Building Technology, Property and Real Estate and Property Development. She is currently Professor of Sustainable Property at UTS, Sydney.
Sara’s transdisciplinary research program sits at the intersection of sustainability, urban development and transformation, with a focus on green cities and preparing our urban environments for the challenges of climate change. She is Australia’s most cited property academic with the highest ORCID, H and i10 scores. Her UTS research projects are funded by ARC, OEH NSW, RICS, ARENA, HIA, the Kamprad Family Foundation, the City of Melbourne and the City of Sydney. Sara is the Director of Research in the School of Built Environment at UTS. Sara is a Property Research Trustee and an Australian Property Institute Research Trustee. She sits on the PRRES Board as a Member and Secretary, is the Regional Editor for the International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation and is on the editorial board for Building Research & Information (Impact Factor 5.322), the Journal of Building Pathology and Rehabilitation (Springer). Sara is on the TEQSA Experts database for the property education.