Michael Mathew Walker is a biologist at University of Auckland notable for his work engaging with MÃÂori students. He established a mentoring program called TuÃÂkana in 1991, which pairs first year MÃÂori students with more experienced students in an effort to reduce the previously-high drop-out rate. He is of Te Whakatà Âhea descent.
Walker was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te ApÃÂrangi in 2003. In the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to science.
In 2011, he won the Prime MinisterâÂÂs Supreme Award, and a sustained excellence in teaching in a kaupapa MÃÂori context award.