John Shand

John Shand (1834 – 30 November 1914) was a New Zealand university professor, educationalist and administrator. He was born in Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland, in 1834.

Shand was educated at Elgin Academy and the University of Aberdeen, from which he graduated as a Master of Arts in 1854. He held the position of mathematical master for nine years at the Ayr Academy and then a similar postion at the Edinburgh Academy.

In 1870, Shand was appointed in to the Chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at the University of Otago, and he travelled to New Zealand on the ship Wild Deer in 1871, becoming one of the first three professors at that university. The dual professorship was divided in 1876, and he opted to retain the Chair of Natural Philosophy, which he kept till his retirement in October 1913. He was a member of the New Zealand Institute and of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1877 he served on the Royal Commission to enquire into the operation of the University of New Zealand.

Shand died on 30 November 1914, about a year after his retirement.