Tasileta "Leta" Teevale MNZM (22 March 1973 – 21 April 2023) was a Samoan New Zealand academic, and was the inaugural director of the Pacific Development Office at the University of Otago. In 2021, she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Pacific education and public health research.
Tasileta Teevale | |
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![]() Teevale in 2021 | |
Born | Apia, Samoa | 22 March 1973
Died | 21 April 2023 Dunedin, New Zealand | (aged 50)
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Auckland, Massey University, University of Otago |
Theses | |
Doctoral advisor | David R Thomas, Robert Scragg, Vili Nosa |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of Otago, Universal College of Learning, Tertiary Education Commission |
Early life and education
editTeevale was born in Apia, Samoa, to Reverend Fuifui Teevale and Roberta Leisam-Teevale, and was the second of four children. When Teevale was eight years old, her father earned a scholarship to study at the University of Otago and the family moved to Dunedin in New Zealand.[1] Teevale first attended Opoho School, where she learned English, and later went to Brockville Primary School, Kenmure Intermediate and Kaikorai Valley College.[1] The family moved to Christchurch when Teevale's father graduated, and she finished her schooling at Hillmorton High School. Teevale discovered a love of volleyball at high school, and was in the team at Hillmorton that won the secondary school nationals.[1]
Academic career
editTeevale completed a Bachelor of Physical Education degree at the University of Otago, after which she lectured in exercise science at the Universal College of Learning in Palmerston North.[2] She then undertook a Master of Business Studies in Sports Management at Massey University, and worked for the Tertiary Education Commission first as a regional advisor and then as a national advisor in the Research Evaluation Unit.[3] Teevale completed a PhD titled Obesity in Pacific adolescents: a socio-cultural study in Auckland, New Zealand at the University of Auckland in 2009, followed by postdoctoral research in Auckland's School of Population Health.[4][5] Teevale then joined the faculty of the University of Otago, being appointed as the first Director of the Pacific Development Office in 2013.[1][2] She was responsible for monitoring the university's delivery on its Pacific Strategic Framework, and established a number of Pacific groups and roles throughout the university, such as divisional Associate Dean Pacific, the University of Otago Pacific Islands Students' Association, and a Pacific Leadership Group.[3][6]
Teevale's research covered physical education, health, youth and topics such as investigating the barriers to Pacific educational achievement at university.[3] She carried out a national survey of youth health and wellbeing, and a study of school-based interventions to manage weight.[1][7]
In 2022, Teevale was diagnosed with cancer, and she died in Dunedin on 21 April 2023.[1][3]
Honours and awards
editIn the 2021 New Years Honours Teevale was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Pacific education and public health research.[7]
Selected works
edit- Terryann Clark; Terry Fleming; Pat Bullen; et al. (7 November 2013). "Health and well-being of secondary school students in New Zealand: trends between 2001, 2007 and 2012". Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. 49 (11): 925–934. doi:10.1111/JPC.12427. ISSN 1034-4810. PMID 24251658. Wikidata Q39312147.
- Kaveh Aminzadeh; Simon Denny; Jennifer Utter; Taciano L. Milfont; Shanthi Ameratunga; Tasileta Teevale; Terryann Clark (16 February 2013). "Neighbourhood social capital and adolescent self-reported wellbeing in New Zealand: a multilevel analysis". Social Science & Medicine. 84: 13–21. doi:10.1016/J.SOCSCIMED.2013.02.012. ISSN 0277-9536. PMID 23517699. Wikidata Q48274752. (erratum)
- Nicki Jackson; Simon Denny; Janie Sheridan; Terry Fleming; Terryann Clark; Tasileta Teevale; Shanthi Ameratunga (12 December 2013). "Predictors of drinking patterns in adolescence: a latent class analysis". Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 135: 133–139. doi:10.1016/J.DRUGALCDEP.2013.11.021. ISSN 0376-8716. PMID 24373625. Wikidata Q50738661.
- Simon Denny; Sonia Lewycka; Jennifer Utter; et al. (16 July 2016). "The association between socioeconomic deprivation and secondary school students' health: findings from a latent class analysis of a national adolescent health survey". International Journal for Equity in Health. 15 (1): 109. doi:10.1186/S12939-016-0398-5. ISSN 1475-9276. PMC 4947270. PMID 27422160. Wikidata Q37099748.
- Clíona Ní Mhurchú; Helen Eyles; Robyn Dixon; Leonie Matoe; Tasileta Teevale; Patricia Meagher-Lundberg (8 July 2011). "Economic incentives to promote healthier food purchases: exploring acceptability and key factors for success". Health Promotion International. 27 (3): 331–341. doi:10.1093/HEAPRO/DAR042. ISSN 0957-4824. PMID 21742702. Wikidata Q48124529.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Lewis, John (29 July 2023). "Academic gave voice to Pacific". Otago Daily Times – via PressReader.
- ^ a b "Aotearoa loses dedicated Pacific academic". Ministry for Pacific Peoples: News from 2023. 1 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d Dougherty, Ian (2023). "Otago mourns loss of Pacific leader". University of Otago: Pacific staff.
- ^ Teevale, Tasileta (2001). Pacific women's netball participation in Aotearoa/New Zealand: factors influencing participation (Master's thesis). Massey Research Online, Massey University. hdl:10179/6145.
- ^ Teevale, Tasileta (2009). Obesity in Pacific adolescents: a socio-cultural study in Auckland, New Zealand (PhD thesis). ResearchSpace@Auckland, University of Auckland. hdl:2292/5828.
- ^ Hartson, Gladys (26 April 2023). "Tributes flow for Otago University academic Dr Tasileta Teevale". TP+. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ a b "New Year honours 2021: The Southern recipients". Otago Daily Times Online News. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2024.