Dr Andrew Smith is settling in at Bethlehem Tertiary Institute since taking over the role of dean.

BTI is a private training establishment providing teacher, counsellor and social worker tertiary qualifications with an underpinning Christian view.

In a statement, the institute says Andrew's role as dean is to oversee the running of the institute and to ensure that as a whole it remains true to its distinctive Christian approach to education.

It says Andrew is a team player and is grateful to be leading a team of staff members who each connect to and live out the special character of BTI in a meaningful way.

Andrew comes from an interesting, and in his words, ‘slightly unusual' professional background.

'I started my working life in hospital medicine.

'I trained at medical school, and I was gradually working my way up to the surgical hierarchy, but God intervened.”

Along with his wife Ruth, he moved to New Zealand in 1983 and soon became involved in church leadership before going on to become a counsellor with his own private practice for about 10 years.

A slow move from counselling to counsellor education, led to Andrew becoming part of the team at BTI in 2000 when BTI first offered the Bachelor of Counselling programme.

Over the last decade he has covered a variety of roles at the institute including counselling programme coordinator, academic dean and head of research.

He says familiarity with BTI is an advantage in his new role as dean.

'It's been a great journey. I think what it does mean is that I bring to this role 10 or 11 years at BTI so I have, I think, a reasonable handle on what we do and how things have happened and some of the history, and I think that has been a real asset in this new role.”