Michele Whitecliffe

Whitecliffe College

Ph: 309 5970 extn. 702
Fax: 302 2957
Post: 136 Grafton Road, Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand
Email: michelew@wcad.ac.nz

Web: www.whitecliffe.ac.nz

About Michele Whitecliffe

Michèle is the President and Co-founder of Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design.

Michèle started her career working for Air New Zealand in Special Promotions. After several years overseas she returned to New Zealand and established her own employment agency. These early and successful experiences, underpinned by the realisation that with a little hard work one can achieve plenty, became the springboard to explore other self driven commercial opportunities.

In 1983, Michèle, together with her (now deceased) husband, Greg Whitecliffe, co-founded the Whitecliffe Art School which was to be the forerunner of the now well established and internationally recognised Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design.

The School opened in Parnell, Auckland and offered registered Diploma courses on a part-time basis. Within two years the courses had become full-time. In 1986 the School relocated to ?Trinity College Campus' on Grafton Road. This was accompanied by a name change. From 1992 to 2002 Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design expanded its curriculum to progressively include a Bachelor of Fine Arts (with majors in fine arts, fashion design, graphic design, and photography, film and video) and three low-residency Masters Degrees. Currently the College offers a Master of Fine Arts, Master of Arts in Arts Administration and a Master of Arts in Arts Therapy.

Today Whitecliffe College has become New Zealand's leading Arts and Design College operating across three campuses in the Auckland central business district. The College currently ranks eighth in the New Zealand tertiary education sector for research performance.

Under Michèle's Presidency the College has also established a strong international flavour with educational and research partnerships now operating in three countries.

Michèle has a strong passion and commitment for the creative arts to be embraced at the Secondary School level and within the wider community. With that in mind she established the Greg Whitecliffe Memorial Charitable Arts Trust with the aim of providing funding and encouragement to art students by supporting them in their next level of serious pursuit.

Michèle is currently on the International Board of Texas Christian University in Dallas. She also accepts invitations to judge student exhibitions. For example she was recently guest judge at an International Fashion Competition in Hong Kong.

More information about Whitecliffe College can be found at www.whitecliffe.ac.nz