Professor McPherson is joining our Co-Moderator Māori, Dr Shane Edwards (Ngāti Maniapoto/ Waikato/ Te Ati Haunui-a-Paparangi), and our Deputy Moderator Pacific, Associate Professor Yvonne Te Ruki Rangi o Tangaroa Underhill-Sem.

‘We are delighted to welcome Professor McPherson to the Moderation Team’, says Deirdre Marshall, Acting Deputy Chief Executive Delivery at the TEC. ‘As an internationally-respected researcher and leader in her field, she brings a wealth of PBRF experience and research expertise’.

Professor McPherson is Emeritus Professor of Rehabilitation and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor at AUT University. She has been Chief Executive of the Health Research Council (2015-2019) and was the Chair of the Health Panel in the PBRF Quality Evaluation 2018. Prior to her academic appointments, Professor McPherson was a registered nurse, midwife, and Health Visitor in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Professor Wendy Larner (VUW) will step down as Co-Moderator at the end of March in order to take up her new post as Vice-Chancellor of Cardiff University. Deirdre adds: ‘Professor Larner has made a huge contribution to the PBRF as a Co-Moderator, Sector Reference Group Co-Chair, and on the panel for the 2019 review. It’s fantastic to see her appointed to this senior leadership role at Cardiff.’

The PBRF Moderation Team provides senior sector oversight of the Quality Evaluation and plays a critical role in providing confidence in the results. Ahead of the Quality Evaluation, the Moderators work closely with the TEC to appoint the peer review panel co-chairs, and support the drafting of the Panel Specific Guidelines. They also work with the Sector Reference Group to finalise the main Guidelines. When the Quality Evaluation takes place in 2026, the Moderation Team is responsible for ensuring consistency across assessments and panels.

See the TEC website for more information on PBRF Quality Evaluation 2026.