Rowena Cullen

Born in 1946,^[1] Cullen was educated at Christchurch Girls' High School,^[2] and went on to study at the University of Canterbury where she completed a Master of Arts degree in English in 1968.^[3] In 1968, she was awarded the Tytheridge travelling scholarship in arts.^[4] She then completed a Master of Letters at the University of Edinburgh, returning to New Zealand to complete a Master of Arts in librarianship and a PhD at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW).^[5][6][7] Cullen then joined the faculty of the School of Government at Victoria University of Wellington, rising to full professor.

Cullen was appointed emeritus professor of the university on her retirement.^[7] She is or has been on the editorial board of a number of journals, including as an associate editor for the Library and Information Science Research Electronic Journal (LIBRES), and the Journal of Information Technology & Politics.^[8][9] Cullen co-chaired a session on "The Foundations of Innovation in Government Must Rest on Sound Policies, Governance Principles, Ethics, and Laws" at the 44th Hawaiian International Conference on System Sciences.^[10]

Cullen has written or edited several books on e-government, and health information on the internet.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Cullen was elected a Fellow of LIANZA in 2007, and in 2012 was made an honorary life member.^[15][16] In 2008, she received a VUW award for research excellence.^[16]

Cullen's parents were John and Molly Knight. In 1967, she married Michael Cullen who would later become a member of parliament.^[17] The couple had two daughters.^[18] They separated in 1987 and divorced in 1989.^[19]