Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa, who is currently a Pro-Chancellor at the University of Auckland takes up his new role at AUT in March next year.
He is the first person of Pacific descent to head a university in New Zealand.
Toeolesulusulu said the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic have been the most difficult for education in a long time.
He said part of the reason he chose to take up the new role is that AUT's provides a pathway to education for people of all ages, backgrounds and races, regardless of the life stage or academic credentials.
