Gerald Bailey, QSO, passed away peacefully on Thursday, surrounded by his family at Hilda Ross at age 84. He was a member of the University Council and served as Pro-Chancellor and then Chancellor from 1992 to 1997. Gerald was a decorated solicitor who was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Waikato in 1999, and in 2002, he became a companion of the Queen’s Service Order for his services to the community. During his time with the University, he was passionate about Te Piringa Faculty of Law, the establishment of the Performing Arts space, and perhaps most of all, the students of Waikato.  

Normally, that CV could serve as the first and last line of someone’s obituary. The problem is that Gerald Bailey was so much more than a solicitor with a distinguished CV.  Following his retirement, Gerald took up the position as a WSU-appointed independent director of Campus Services Limited / uLeisure.  

The company was formed as a partnership between the University and the WSU to regulate prices and commercial opportunities on campus and to ensure that students’ interests were kept at the heart of decision making.  In that sense, the students could not have wished for a better champion.  

“Gerald could have been one of those out-of-touch academics, and no one would have blamed him with his CV, but he wasn’t. Every meeting was about the students and what we could do for them” said WSU General Manager David West. 

“He was involved with multiple generations of student leadership and WSU Presidents, and was an obvious choice as a life member when uLeisure was reincorporated into the University in 2016.” 

The closing of uLeisure would have marked another obvious point for Gerald Bailey to step away from his commitments to the University and its Tauira but instead Gerald continued, this time serving as a returning officer for the WSU student elections for a further four years.  

While the loss of a loved one is difficult to put into words without leaning toward pandering or cliché it is far easier for us to describe what the loss of Gerald Bailey means to the Waikato Students’ Union and the University of Waikato as a whole. 

Gerald was a kind, dedicated, and driven man who would be remembered by those who knew him as compassionate, polite, and impeccably well dressed, even when surrounded by students on his rare days off.    

Our thoughts are with Jenny, his wife of 63 years, his children and grandchildren at this time.