Dunedin-born Prof David Murdoch had his first day on Tuesday.
He said it felt "a bit weird" starting in the role under the Red restrictions, but the focus of the job had not changed.
After a few years of living with the impacts of Covid-19, people were getting used to working in tough times and his appointment was no different.
There had been a long build-up to the official start of the role but he was happy to be in Dunedin, finally starting his new position.
Although there could be no large celebrations, there had been some small acknowledgments around the office, which had been nice, he said.
Universities were complex organisations and his first priority was getting used to the balance of how things worked.
He had worked for the University of Otago as dean and head of the Christchurch campus, but there was still much to learn.
Between meeting people, getting to know aspects of the university he was less familiar with and preparing for the arrival of Omicron, he had enough to keep him busy, he said.
A university spokeswoman said planned formal welcomes with the wider university community were put on hold.
Instead a small welcome took place following the Red guidelines.
