Biography of Nilgün Önder, Associate Vice-President (Academic)

Dr. Nilgün Önder was first appointed to the position of Associate Vice-President (Academic) on 1 July 2018 for a five-year term. Dr. Önder was born and grew up in Turkey. After receiving a BSc with the highest distinction in political science and public administration from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, she moved to Canada to pursue graduate studies. She completed her MA degree with distinction in political science at Wilfrid Laurier University.  She holds a PhD in political science from York University.

Dr. Önder has been with the University of Regina since 2003. She is Associate Professor of Politics and International Studies. She served as Acting Associate Dean (Research and Graduate Studies), Faculty of Arts, from July 2015-June 2018. She is the founding co-ordinator of the International Studies Program at the Faculty of Arts.

Her areas of research and teaching include international relations, international political economy, global governance, Turkish political economy, and Turkish foreign policy. In addition to publishing peer-reviewed journal articles and presenting numerous papers at refereed international and Canadian conferences, she is the author of The Economic Transformation of Turkey: Neoliberalism and State Intervention (2015). Her current research focuses on global economic governance, foreign policy theory, and Turkish foreign policy.

She has served several international scholarly associations in various capacities. She was Vice-President of International Studies Association – Canada for 2017-2018 and President of the same association for 2018-2019. She is a member of the Editorial Board, International Comparative Social Studies (ICSS) Book Series, Brill, Netherlands.

Prior to her appointment as AVP (Academic), Dr. Önder’s contribution to the University included service on numerous Faculty and University-level committees. She was an elected member of the Council Committee on Academic Mission (CCAM) and of Executive of Council for several terms. She also had a seat on the Council Committee on Research as an ex-officio member in her capacity as Associate Dean (Research and Graduate Studies) of the Faculty of Arts. Dr. Önder chaired the President’s Writing Skills Task Force (2016-2018), which was responsible for developing recommendations to improve student writing skills and close gaps in writing supports at the University. 

In her role as AVP (Academic), Dr. Önder initiated and led a number of projects focusing on facilitating students’ transition from high school to university, supporting student success and retention, and enhancing quality teaching and teaching supports through the Centre for Teaching and Learning. She provided leadership and support for the Open Educational Resources Publishing Program and initiated the Zero-Cost-Material Courses project to lower textbook costs for students. She created and chaired the Microcredentials Working Group to develop an institutional microcredentials framework. The Working Group released the Microcredentials Framework in April 2021. In September 2021, together with the Provost, Dr. Önder established the Task Force on the Future of Technology Infrastructure Supporting Teaching, Learning, and the Academic Mission of the University to develop a vision for the University’s academic technology infrastructure and related supports for faculty and students. In consultation with the Task Force, she authored the Task Force Report with Recommendations (April 2022). In collaboration with relevant units, she will take the lead on the implementation of some of the Task Force’s priority recommendations in the coming months.

For Dr. Önder, maintaining excellent relations with the three Federated Colleges has been of high priority. As part of her AVPA responsibilities, she led the review and renewal of the Guidelines for A Working Academic Relationship Agreement between the University and Campion and Luther Colleges. The new agreement was signed by the Presidents of the three institutions in March 2022. Building on her experience leading the renewal of this agreement, she is currently working on developing a new academic relationship agreement with the First Nations University. Earlier, Dr. Önder also led the renewal of the University’s Affiliation Agreement with Gabriel Dumont Institute and played active roles in the development of a number of new academic program agreements with this important partner institution. Her efforts to build and develop the University’s relations with other education institutions have involved initiatives focusing on the Saskatchewan Regional Colleges. Her current related activities also include developing and implementing a strategy aimed at expanding the University’s dual credit course program with high schools in Saskatchewan in collaboration with CCE.