Massey University College of Manawatu became Massey University of Manawatu on 1 January 1964 under the Massey University of Manawatu Act 1963. The new university had full autonomy and degree-conferring powers under the Act. The name was shortened in 1966 to Massey University.
Dr Alan Stewart, appointed Principal of the College in 1959, became the first Vice-Chancellor of the University. Dr Stewart had led Massey through the transition from an agricultural college to a full university. He would lead Massey until his retirement in 1983
In October 1964 the University Council lodged an application for a coat of arms with the College of Arms. The brief required that the arms should 'present a unity of design, that they should predict learning in its broadest concept and that there should be some pictorial indication of association with New Zealand'.
The current coat of arms of the University was authorised on 10 May 1967.
Massey University of Manawatu enrolled 1,877 students in its first year - 959 internal and 918 extramural students. The University's buildings and facilities increased greatly over the next few decades to cope with growing student numbers. By December 1992, the University's total student roll was 24,675 students. Of these, 9,088 were internal and 15,687 were extramural students.
By the early 1990s, the university had nine faculties.
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Last updated on Monday 20 November 2017
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Dr. Alan Stewart, Principal of Massey Agricultural College and its successors, 1959-1963 and Vice-Chancellor of Massey University, 1964-1983.
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