Ann Gluckman

Ann Jocelyn Gluckman (née Klippel; 13 August 1927 – 13 March 2026) was a New Zealand educator, writer and historian. She became the first woman in the country to head a state co-educational secondary school when she was appointed principal of Ngā Tapuwae College in 1975. She was also a historian of the Auckland Jewish community, authoring and editing the Identity and Involvement book series over a 30-year span.

Early life and education Gluckman was born Ann Jocelyn Klippel in London on 13 August 1927, the first child of Samuel and Augusta Klippel (née Manoy). Her mother was the first Jewish woman to graduate from the Otago Medical School in 1922. The family moved to Sydney, Australia, where her father worked as a tie manufacturer, before emigrating to Auckland, New Zealand, in 1934. Following secondary school, she began studies at Auckland University College, majoring in botany and geology. Under her leadership, Ngā Tapuwae pioneered New Zealand's first community college model. Gluckman was an advocate for multicultural education in a school with predominantly Māori and Pasifika students; she successfully campaigned for the introduction of the Samoan language into the curriculum and campaigned against the use of corporal punishment in schools.

While at Ngā Tapuwae, Gluckman studied extramurally at Massey University, earning a Diploma in Education Administration in 1980 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1986.

Gluckman contributed to the historical documentation of New Zealand's Jewish community, by conceiving and editing the Identity and Involvement series, which chronicled the history of Auckland Jewry. The first volume was published in 1990 to coincide with the sesquicentennial of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the founding of the Auckland Hebrew Congregation. A second volume, co-edited with her husband Laurie, followed in 1993. In 2020, at the age of 93, she published the third volume, Identity and Involvement III: Auckland Jewry into the 21st Century, a collection of essays from over 120 contributors.

Gluckman's other literary works include Principals of Retirement (1991), Ageing is Attitude: The New Zealand Experience (1995), and Postcards from Tukums: A Family Detective Story (co-edited with Kirsten Warner), which traced her mother's Latvian family history. She had been predeceased by her husband, Laurie Gluckman, a psychiatrist and medical historian, in 1999. Their son, Peter Gluckman, became a paediatrician and served as the inaugural Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor.

Honours In the 1993 New Year Honours, Gluckman was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for services to education and the community.

Selected bibliography Identity and Involvement: Auckland Jewry, Past and Present (1990, editor) Principals of Retirement (1991, editor) Identity and Involvement II: Auckland Jewry, Past and Present 1840–1990 (1993, co-edited with Laurie Gluckman) Ageing is Attitude: The New Zealand Experience (1995, with Mary Tagg) Postcards from Tukums: A Family Detective Story (with Kirsten Warner) Identity and Involvement III: Auckland Jewry into the 21st Century (2020, editor)