Prof Russell is the Otago Polytechnic kaitohutohu and is a member of its senior management team.
She was appointed a professor in December, which came as "a big surprise", Prof Russell said.
"I was quite stunned when told. I had applied to be considered for an associate professor role and to gain full professor was pretty exciting,"
Prof Russell has been the polytechnic's kaitohutohu for seven years, a managerial position that involves an advisory role in the institution, developing relationships with the Maori community.
She oversees the incorporation of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (te Tiriti) within a broader policy framework and "day-to-day" operations at the polytechnic, which includes the institution's memorandum of understanding with four Ngai Tahu runanga.
Polytechnic chief executive Phil Ker said the appointment reflected Prof Russell's level of recognition as an academic leader in the field of indigenous studies.
"The leadership she has provided here at Otago Polytechnic has made a demonstrable difference in our ability to deliver on our Treaty of Waitangi obligations and develop meaningful partnerships with local runaka."
Mr Ker said Prof Russell facilitated relationship-building between the institute, the wider Maori community and tertiary-sector organisations.
She also undertook an advisory role in any Maori-related research embarked on at the polytechnic, conducted her own research and provided consultancy services outside the organisation, he said.
Prof Russell came to academia later in life, as a grandmother who had spent much of her career teaching te reo and tikanga (Maori custom).
Her first degree was a bachelor of arts, attained extramurally through Massey University, which was followed soon after by a postgraduate diploma and then a PhD from the University of Otago.
She is of Ngai Tahu, Ngati Mamoe, Waitaha and Rapuwai descent on te taha Maori, and Polish and Northern Irish on te taha Tauiwi.
Prof Leoni Schmidt, the head of the Dunedin School of Art, is the only other professor at Otago Polytechnic.