Priya Kurian

Professor Priya Kurian is a faculty member at the University of Waikato in Aotearoa New Zealand, specializing in Political Science and Public Policy. Her work bridges environmental politics, gender, ethnicity, media, and critical public policy. She holds a PhD from Purdue University and has authored/co-authored seven books, including Public Relations and Sustainable Citizenship (2021), which won the ICA PR Division's Outstanding Scholarly Book Award (2022). Her research focuses on sustainability, citizenship, and public engagement, particularly in Indigenous and multicultural contexts. Key projects include a Marsden Grant-funded study on ethnic communities and sustainable citizenship, and a MBIE grant examining Māori perspectives on gene editing. She has supervised 16 PhD students and is affiliated with the Shama Ethnic Women’s Trust and the Waikato Intercultural Fund Committee.

Education: PhD, MA (Political Science) from Purdue University; BA (English) from the University of Madras; Postgraduate Diploma in Tertiary Teaching from University of Waikato.

Research Interests: Climate change adaptation, environmental justice, gender and ethnicity in policy, public participation in science, and Indigenous knowledge systems. Her work emphasizes cultural and ethical dimensions of sustainability, particularly in Aotearoa’s context.

Notable Awards: 2022 ICA Award for Public Relations and Sustainable Citizenship; 2012 University of Waikato Supervision Excellence Award.

Grants and Funding: Marsden Grant (2024-2027) for ‘He Rau Ringa’ project; MBIE grant on gene editing technologies; Rockefeller Foundation Grant for climate futures symposium (2015).

Teaching: Courses on global environmental politics, climate change and society, and comparative political systems. Active in postgraduate supervision and interdisciplinary research.