Announcements – June 2020
The University of Alberta senate has elected Peggy Garritty as the university’s next chancellor. From 1993 to 2008, Ms. Garritty was the owner and president of her own communications company, PG Communications Ltd. She also served on ATB Financial’s corporate leadership team for a decade. Ms. Garritty began her four-year term as chancellor in June.
Concordia University has appointed Annie Gérin as the new dean of the university’s faculty of arts, beginning Aug. 1. Dr. Gerin is a professor of art history and currently serves as the interim dean of the faculty of arts at Université du Québec à Montréal. She was also chair of the art history department at UQAM from 2013 to 2016. Prior to that, she was a faculty member at the University of Regina and the University of Ottawa.
David Gregory, who served as the dean of the faculty of nursing at the University of Regina, has taken on a temporary role as interim provost and vice-president, academic, at the university. In his time as dean of the faculty of nursing, Dr. Gregory was named a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and partnered with Saskatchewan Polytechnic to develop two collaborative nursing programs. He also created the first national networking event for doctoral nursing students, the Canadian Doctoral Nursing Network Conference, which is now in its seventh year.
Nathan Matthew, chancellor of Thompson Rivers University, has had his position renewed for a second term. He was originally appointed in 2018 after serving as the university’s first executive of Aboriginal education from 2006 to 2014. Mr. Matthews is a member of the Simpcw First Nation and served as the band’s elected chief for various periods over four decades. He has also been a member of the Assembly of First Nations Chiefs committee of education, and was a founding member and chair of School District 73’s First Nations education council.
McMaster University’s dean of social sciences, Jeremiah Hurley, has been reappointed for a second five-year term, which begins on July 1. Dr. Hurley is a professor and former chair of economics at the university. He was first appointed dean in 2015.
Barb Gamey has been named the University of Winnipeg’s next chancellor. She is the co-founder of Payworks and sits on the Business Council of Manitoba’s education committee. She is also co-chair of the Premier of Manitoba’s Enterprise Team and helped deliver a 2019 report as part of the province’s economic development strategy.
The University of Guelph has appointed Charlotte Yates its interim president for a two-year term beginning Aug. 2. Dr. Yates has served as the university’s provost and vice-president, academic, since 2015. Before coming to U of G, Dr. Yates was dean of the faculty of social sciences at McMaster University.
Mike DeGagné has been named Yukon University’s president and vice chancellor for a five-year term that begins on July 1. Dr. DeGagné comes to YukonU from Nipissing University, where served as president and vice–chancellor since 2013. While at Nipissing, he dedicated significant time to Indigenous issues and to ensuring Nipissing took a leading role in the Indigenization of the postsecondary education sector in Canada.
The Gairdner Foundation announced Guy Rouleau as the recipient of this year’s Canada Gairdner Wightman Award. The award is given each year to a Canadian researcher who has had a sustained career of research excellence in the health sciences. Dr. Rouleau is the director of the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital (the Neuro), and is a professor and chair of the department of neurology and neurosurgery at McGill University. Over his long career, he has identified over 20 genetic risk factors predisposing to a range of brain disorders, both neurological and psychiatric. He also spearheaded the Neuro’s Open Science initiative to break down barriers to medical discovery by encouraging the sharing of data across institutions (see the feature elsewhere in this month’s issue on the Neuro’s open science initiative, “Making science more open”).
Charles Falzon has been reappointed dean of Ryerson University’s faculty of communication and design (FCAD) for a five-year term. He joined Ryerson in 2010 and was appointed dean of the faculty in 2015. Under his direction, FCAD has implemented significant curriculum reform, moved forward with an equity, diversity and inclusion strategy, and established collaborations with Cirque du Soleil, Google and the Toronto Arts Council.
Carleton University has a new dean of its faculty of public affairs, Brenda O’Neill, starting Oct. 1. Dr. O’Neill is currently head of the political science department at the University of Calgary. Previously, she was the graduate chair of the department of political studies at the University of Manitoba, as well as the provost of U of M’s university college. She has also held academic positions at Red Deer College, the University of Alberta, University of Lethbridge and University of Calgary.
The University of Toronto has appointed Alison Gibbs director of the university’s centre for teaching support and innovation. Dr. Gibbs, who taught secondary school mathematics before completing an MSc and a PhD at U of T, joined the university as a faculty member in 2002. She is currently a professor in the department of statistical sciences in the faculty of arts and science.
Anna Lathrop will become Brock University’s new vice-provost and associate vice-president, students, in the university’s new reconfigured students portfolio. In this role, Ms. Lathrop will lead a unit focused on supporting students experiencing non-academic issues and enhancing the student experience. As part of the position, Ms. Lathrop will also take on a leadership role on the provost’s advisory committee on engineering that is aiming to introduce engineering programs at Brock in the coming years.
Ellen Perrault was named dean of the faculty of social work at the University of Calgary, beginning July 1. Dr. Perrault is currently vice-dean in the faculty of social work at U of C and joined the university as a sessional instructor in 2002. In 2008, she became a full-time instructor and took on a coordinator role in the faculty’s office of field education.
Marcia Buchholz has been appointed vice-president, human resources, at the University of British Columbia, after serving as the interim vice-president since December 2019. She previously held the position of managing director, advisory services, central support and professional services, at UBC. Ms. Buchholz previously served as the associate vice-president, human resources, at the university of Calgary, as well as senior managing consultant of human resources strategy and transformation at IBM Canada.
The University of Lethbridge has appointed Erasmus Okine as interim provost and vice-president for a three-year term. He first came to U of Lethbridge as its vice-president, research, in 2015 and was appointed for a second term in that position beginning April 2019.
The University of Guelph announced Lysa Porth as the next dean of the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics. Dr. Porth is currently the associate dean of strategic partnerships and administrations in the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba, as well as the director and department head of the actuarial science department in the university’s Warren Centre for Actuarial Studies. She takes on her new role at U of G on Oct. 1.
Melanie Chapman has been appointed Carleton University’s ombudsperson. Ms. Chapman comes to Carleton from the office of the ombudsman in the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces, where she has worked for the past 14 years. Currently, she serves in that office as director of investigation and leads a team of investigators in the administration and resolution of complains of fairness. Before that, Ms. Chapman worked in complaints and conflict resolution at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Carol J. Nemeroff, a professor of social and behavioural sciences at the University of Southern Maine, has been named dean of Renaissance College at the University of New Brunswick. Along with being a professor, Dr. Nemeroff is a co-founder and principal at the Maine Regulatory Training and Ethics Center at USM. She is also formerly the director of the Arizona State University Clinical Psychology Center and the Mind-Body Health Lab.
Western University has named Lesley Rigg the university’s next vice-president, research, beginning Aug. 1. Dr. Rigg joins Western from the University of Calgary, where she has served as dean of the faculty of science. Before joining U of C in 2015, she served in several roles at Northern Illinois University.
The King’s University in Edmonton appointed Kristopher Ooms as its interim vice-president, academics and research. Dr. Ooms has served in various capacities at King’s for the past 12 years, including researcher, chemistry professor and dean of natural science. He begins his new position in August.
Mitch Frazer has been named the new chancellor of Ontario Tech University. Mr. Frazer is a Toronto-based lawyer and is a partner and the chair of the pensions and employment practice at Torys LLP. He has been involved in education at many levels, including helping to establish the National Institute on Ageing at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management and serving as a member of the Ryerson’s board of governors. He began his new role in May.
Amber Lannon was named Carleton University’s new university librarian. She served as interim university librarian since Jan. 1, 2020, after having held the position of associate university librarian since July 2016. Before coming to Carleton, she held various leadership roles at McGill University’s library, including head of operations and later as head librarian in the humanities and social sciences branch.
Brent Shea has been named the new director of the campus community police service at Western University. He retired from the London Police Service in 2015 after serving for 35 years, with his final five years serving as deputy chief. Mr. Shea is a graduate of King’s University College, an affiliate college at Western.
Pascale Sicotte is the next dean of Concordia University’s faculty of arts and sciences for a five-year term which begins on Aug. 1. She was also appointed as a professor in Concordia’s department of biology. For the past two years, Dr. Sicotte was vice-dean for the faculty of arts at the University of Calgary. She was also the head of U of C’s department of anthropology and archaeology from 2014 to 2018.
The Trent Centre for Aging and Society (TCAS) at Trent University has a new director, Elizabeth McCrillis. An assistant professor in the department of psychology at Trent, Dr. McCrillis has been a member of the TCAS executive committee since 2018. Along with her new appointment at the centre, she will also take on the coordinator role for the graduate specialization in aging studies at Trent.
The University of Lethbridge has appointed Neil Langevin director of Pronghorn Athletics. Mr. Langevin is currently the head coach of the Pronghorns women’s rugby program and will continue coaching the rugby team. In 2003, he received the Canada West Coach of the Year award and coached Canada’s national senior women’s team to fourth-place in the Rugby World Cup in 2006. He was also named assistant coach for the Canadian men’s rugby sevens FISU Summer Universiade team in 2019.
The University of Toronto announced the appointment of Robert Wright as interim dean of the John H. Daniels faculty of architecture, landscape and design. Mr. Wright will take on the role for a one-year term, as the search for the next dean was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On July 1, Mark Giesbrecht will become dean of the University of Waterloo’s faculty of mathematics for a five-year term. Since 2014, Dr. Giesbrecht, has served as the director of the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at U of Waterloo. Before that, he was the associate director and director of undergraduate studies in the school.
Lynn Wells, currently MacEwan University’s associate vice-president, students and teaching, is taking on a new role on July 1 as Brock University’s new provost and vice-president, academic. Dr. Wells previously served as the provost and vice-president, academic, and acting president at the First Nations University of Canada. She has also held various administrative positions at the University of Regina.
Mount Allison University has named Jeffrey Hennesy as its next provost and vice-president, academic and research, for a five-year term beginning July 1. Dr. Hennesy comes to Mount Allison from Acadia University, where he served as the director of its school of music from 2007 to 2013 and as the dean of arts from 2014 to 2019.
Janice Deakin was appointed president and CEO of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. Dr. Deakin served as the provost and vice-president, academic, at Western University for eight years after spending 25 years at Queen’s University in various positions, including associate vice-principal, academic, and dean of the school of graduate and post–doctoral studies. She was also the chair of the Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents and has served as the president of the Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology.
The University of Lethbridge has appointed Michelle Helstein its next vice-provost, on an interim basis, for a three–year term. Dr. Helstein is a professor in the department of kinesiology and physical education, and was awarded a University of Lethbridge Research Fund grant in her first year at the university for a pilot study on advertising and female athletes. Her administrative roles at U of Lethbridge include serving as both associate dean and acting dean of the faculty of arts and sciences.
John French became the new director of University of Toronto Entrepreneurship on May 19. In this role, Mr. French will support the U of T’s entrepreneurship initiatives across its three campuses. He comes to U of T from NEXT Canada, a network of Canadian academics, entrepreneurs, investors and founders that helps to build the next generation of innovators.
The Canada Council of the Arts announced the of the 2020 Killam Prizes honouring eminent scholars in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences and engineering, They are: Cecilia Benoit, a scientist at the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and aprofessor in the department of sociology; Sarah Carter, professor and holder of the Henry Marshall Tory Chair in the department of history and classics, and professor in the faculty of native studies, at the University of Alberta; Alan Evans, professor and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Nanotechnology in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Toronto; and Barbara Sherwood Lollar, a professor at U of T, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Isotopes of the Earth and Environment, and director of the Stable Isotope Laboratory.
Peter Tiidus was reappointed to a second five-year term as dean of Brock University’s faculty of applied health sciences as of July 1. He was first appointed to the position in 2015. Before coming to Brock, he had been a professor, department chair and a muscle and exercise physiologist in the departments of kinesiology and health sciences at Wilfrid Laurier University. He had also served as interim dean of the faculty of science at Laurier.
Alexandra Gillespie has been named vice-president and principal of University of Toronto Mississauga for a five-year term that begins on July 1. She is currently chair of the department of English and drama at UTM and is a scholar of 14th-century writer Geoffrey Chaucer.
Angela Bedard-Haughn will begin a five-year term as the new dean of the University of Saskatchewan’s college of agriculture and bioresources on Aug. 15. Dr. Bedard-Haughn is currently the associate dean of research and graduate studies at the college, and former department head and graduate chair in soil science at U of S.
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