Friday 29 June 2018

Appointment of Interim Executive Director, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy

Friday 22 June 2018

Update on centralized advising at the Student Success Centre

In response to the University’s strategic priority of student success and retention, the Student Success Centre (SSC) expanded its services in the spring of 2016 to include centralized academic advising services. The initial mandate of the unit was to provide additional support to undecided and at-risk students. These groups were defined through consultation with Faculties.

The rationale for housing these services within the Student Success Centre includes better connection to retention based services including:

• learning supports managed by the SSC (such as academic success workshops, writing services, and/or writing, math and stats and other subject area tutors)
• transition programming managed by the SSC (Academic Recovery Program and Arts Transition Program)
• information regarding alternate academic paths not tied to a particular Faculty
• Student Accessibility and Counselling services (close proximity and common front desk for appointment booking)

The uptake of advising services offered by the SSC has grown significantly since its inception. The two Student Success Advisors saw 3,619 students from May 1, 2017 – April 30, 2018. This is an increase of 115% over May 2016 – April 2017. 54% of these students were seen on a drop-in basis.

The growth in these numbers is due largely to the reputation that the Student Success Advisors are easy to access and available for timely meetings. Questions posed at these appointments are often time-sensitive but can be answered quickly. There are some drop-in hours currently available nearly every business day. Students have found these services to be supportive, adding to the popularity of these advisors.

Student Success advisors are the primary academic advisors for all students in the Academic Recovery and Arts Transition programs. The advisors work closely with the coordinator of these programs to ensure timely and correct registration of these students, contributing to their retention and ultimate success. Advisors are invited by the coordinator as in-class guests to assist these students in choosing their next semester courses, and advisors process these registrations during the assigned time-tickets.

This results in the advisors building relationships with these students, resulting in the increased probability of retaining these students and transitioning them back to their faculties. In 201810, 58.8% of ARP and 72.5% of ATP students were successful in that semester of these programs. In the most recent academic year, these programs returned approximately 135 students to various Faculties to continue their education who otherwise would not have been eligible to continue. The programs are on track to do this again for the current year.

The SSC advisors have expanded their portfolio since inception. The following groups of students have been added:

• all Business Qualifying students on faculty or university academic probation (initially only those newly put on AP with15 credit hours or less)
• OMA students
• referrals from Enrolment Services from students wanting program information when applying for admission
• MAP students (during MAP academic advisor leave of absence).

The SSC Advising unit provides outreach to groups of students not otherwise targeted. This outreach helps to retain these students. Additional groups are targeted as they are identified. Currently they include:

• new admits with marginally acceptable admission averages (less than 70%) to ensure they are aware of support services in case they face academic difficulty
• those students who receive all NPs in any given semester are invited to discuss their circumstances to determine if they are eligible for medical or compassionate withdrawal (and subsequent ability to continue classes)
• those students whose registration eligibility to about to expire, resulting in requirement to apply for readmission.

SSC advisors have taken on the role of advocate in certain circumstances, for example:

• advising students they have the right to review exams if the feel the mark may be incorrect
• advising students of appeal procedures and requirements (when appropriate)
• taking the time to understand a student’s specific issue and reaching out to appropriate Faculty contacts to advocate on a student’s behalf.

The SSC advising unit monitors enrolment in courses, and reports actual or anticipated shortages of seats in specific courses to the Associate Vice-President (Academic), who in turn contacts the Deans of the respective Faculties to ensure there are adequate seats in courses for students who have been admitted and need to register. This proactive approach has increased availability and selection of courses for new and potential students.

Challenges

• Because the centralized advising unit needs to manage the regulations and processes in all Faculties, it is in a unique position to identify inconsistencies. Challenges identified include varied application of policy and varied processes dependent on Faculty. Examples of these include processes for reviewing and awarding transfer credit, and the way in which accommodations are managed.
  
  

Tuesday 8 May 2018

Reappointment of the Dean of Media, Art, and Performance

Following a review conducted according to the provisions of University policy on out-of-scope academic administrative appointments, the Dean of Media, Art, and Performance, Professor Rae Staseson, has been appointed to a second five-year term effective 1 July 2019.

An alumna of the University of Regina and of Rutgers University, Professor Staseson took up the deanship after having served as Chair of the Department of Communication Studies at Concordia University (Montréal) from 2008-2013. Among her many accomplishments as Chair, Staseson created a Distinguished Alumni Series, the Marc Gervais Prize in Communication Studies, and was instrumental in securing two Canada Research Chair positions and one Concordia University Research Chair. She opened, directed, and curated for Concordia’s Media Gallery, hosting innovative exhibitions by local, national, and international media artists.

Professor Staseson is a media artist and curator. Her practice and research have been supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and numerous arts agencies. Her work has been exhibited internationally in fourteen countries and is represented in several collections, including the National Gallery of Canada and the Saskatchewan Arts Board. Her work has been screened at such venues as the Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), the Walker Art Center, the National Gallery of Canada, the Power Plant, the Mendel Art Gallery, and the Harvard Film Archive.

Since joining the University of Regina in 2014, she has focused her energy on leading the Faculty in new directions with the renaming and rebranding in 2016. There has been great effort put into the creation of new programs, combined with major curriculum changes, and there has been a significant focus on a rigorous internationalization plan. New initiatives such as the Michele Sereda Artist-in-Residence for Socially Engaged Practices, partnerships with several international universities, and new networks and collaborations across the University of Regina, have all helped to raise MAP’s profile and improve enrolments.

The Provost would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Reappointment Committee for their collegial work. They are Jan Bell (APT), Kylie Rae Dahlstrom (graduate student), Jesse Goddard (CUPE), Charity Marsh (faculty), Wes Pearce (Associate Dean), Helen Pridmore (faculty), Christine Ramsay (faculty), Leesa Streifler (faculty), and Hannah Wildman (undergraduate student). The Committee was supported in its work by Nancy Kazeil (Human Resources) and Kristina Untereiner (Provost's Office).

Please join us in congratulating Rae on her appointment to a second term as Dean.

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UNIVERSITY OF REGINA

Tuition and fees 2018-19

 
The following tuition and fee changes will be effective September 1, 2018:

• Tuition for all undergraduate credit hours will be increased by 2.8%, rounded to the nearest $0.25;
• Tuition for the Master of Public Administration, Master of Public Policy and PhD programs in the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy will be increased by 5.0%, rounded to the nearest $0.25:
• Tuition for all other master’s and PhD students will be increased by 2.8%, rounded to the nearest $0.25:
• Tuition for courses in the certificate programs in the Centre for Continuing Studies will be increased by 2.8%;
• The Co-op Fee will be increased by 2.8% to the nearest $0.25 ($895.50) and the application of this fee will be extended to all graduate co-op placements;
• The Recreation and Athletic Fee will be increased by 2.8% rounded to the nearest $0.05 from $92.70 per term to $95.30; and
• The Graduate International Surcharge will be increased by 2.8% from $1,127.50 per term to $1,159.25 per term.

Background

The increases fall within the context of the operating budget in the Comprehensive Budget Plan for 2018-19. They conform to the tuition policy approved by the Board of Governors in July 2014: http://www.uregina.ca/policy/browse-policy/policy-GOV-090-045.html.

The tuition rates are set out in Tables 1 and 2 that follow.

Table 1: Undergraduate Tuition, September 2018

($ per credit hour)

Table 2: Graduate Tuition, September 2018

($ per credit hour unless noted)

Increase in Graduate Tuition
The 2.8% increase in graduate tuition for most programs is equal to the increase in undergraduate tuition. As described below, tuition rates for graduate students at the University of Regina are among the lowest in the country. Other Canadian universities, including the University of Saskatchewan and universities in Ontario and Manitoba are increasing their graduate tuition by 5% or more.

Tuition in the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School (JSGS)
The tuition rates for the JSGS programs (MPA, MPP, and PhD) continue the agreed alignment of University of Regina JSGS program tuition rates with those at the University of Saskatchewan, which has already set its rates.

International Fees
There is no change in the undergraduate international differential multiplier (3.0). The rate is unchanged since 2010-11. The dollar amount for undergraduate tuition for international students automatically increases as domestic undergraduate tuition increases.

The graduate international surcharge is charged on a per term basis. The increase to $1,159.25 is 2.82%.

Revenue from international students contributes to the operations of UR International, the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, Student Affairs, and other offices. It makes possible services that are key to the retention and academic success of international students, both undergraduate and graduate. These services include orientation, peer advising, language coaching and support, study assistance and tutoring, and more.

Recreation and Athletic Fee
The revenue generated from this fee is used solely for athletic and recreation purposes. The fee increase to $95.30 per term is a 2.80% increase. It is the only universal mandatory fee charged to students by the University.

Co-op fees
Previously the co-op fee was applied primarily to undergraduate co-op placements while there was a variety of treatments at the graduate level. Following a review and consultations with the affected academic units, an agreement has been reached that the co-op will be applied henceforth on a uniform basis to graduate student co-op placements as well as the undergraduate co-op terms. The increase of the fee to $895.50 is an increase of 2.81%.


Tuition policy

The Board of Governors’ tuition policy has been referenced in preparing this decision item.

1. The Comprehensive Budget Plan for 2018-19 describes in detail:
   
   
   1. The revenue available to the university’s operating budget for 2018-19 including provincial and federal government grants, recoveries, interest income, and tuition and fees;
      
      
   2. The efforts made in the budget with respect to cost reduction and high-priority re-investments; and  
      
      
   3. How the tuition increases are necessary to produce a balanced operating budget.
      
      
2. Analysis by Higher Education Strategy Associates (HESA) has concluded that “Canada spends as much on non-repayable aid as its PSE institutions collect in tuition fees for domestic students – meaning, in net terms, that Canadian students pay, on average, zero tuition” (http://higheredstrategy.com/blog/, April 22, 2014). In other words, the total of student aid loan remissions, student aid grants, tuition rebates or discounts, tax credits, the Canada Education Savings Grant, the Canada Learning Bond, First Nations’ Band funding for post-secondary education, and institution scholarships and bursaries is almost exactly the tuition paid by Canadian university and college students.
   
   
   1. The operating budget for 2018-19 shows the level of financial assistance provided from operating funds for University of Regina students increasing by $275,000 compared to the 2017-18 budget. This change incorporates the reduction by the $34,200 of funding to the University from the provincial government for Saskatchewan Innovation and Opportunities Scholarships. However, the budget plan includes the use of one-time funds to “backfill” the scholarship funding for 2018-19, recognizing that much of the expected funding has already been awarded to students.
      
      In addition, the operating budget provides for the increased expenditures for Saskatchewan Advantage Scholarships funded by the Province (+$268,527). It includes changes in funding for several internal scholarship programs (an increase of $18,000 in total based on recent expenditure levels), a small increase in graduate scholarships ($2,600), and an increase in base-budget funding to match URSU’s support for the World University Service of Canada assistance for refugee students (a $20,000 increase to the $110,000 added to the budget in 2017-18).
      
      
   2. According to the most recently available data from Statistics Canada, the University of Regina, at 29%, ranks very high among Canadian comprehensive universities in total scholarship funding (from all sources) provided to its students as a percentage of tuition and student fee revenue (See Chart 1). Only Memorial University, which has significantly lower tuition levels, has a higher percentage. The U of R provision is well above the average for Canadian comprehensive universities (19%) and close to the percentage at the University of Saskatchewan (33%) which is included in the chart for comparison purposes, although it is not classified as a comprehensive university.
      
      

      Chart 1: Total Scholarships as a Percentage of Tuition and Fees among Canadian Comprehensive Universities, 2015-16
      
      

      Source: CAUBO, Financial Information of Universities and Colleges, 2015/16 Notes:    Federated colleges not included.    The average is for comprehensive universities only and does not include the University of Saskatchewan.

      
      
      The U of R results for 2015/16 are slightly lower than those for 2014/15. Among comprehensive institutions the University of Regina was also second in 2014/15 at 32% with Memorial University first at 43%. However, our percentage for 2016-17 (the year following that of the data in Chart 1) has increased again, back to 31.5%. (Data for other universities will not be available for some months.)
      
      Approximately 42% of the U of R’s student financial assistance comes from the operating budget, 42% from special purpose and trust funds (donations and endowments), and 16% from research funds.
      
      The Saskatchewan Advantage Scholarship (SAS) program, funded by the Government of Saskatchewan, provides an immediate tuition discount of $500 to any University of Regina student who graduated since January 2012 from a Saskatchewan high school and who takes one or more credit courses, undergraduate or graduate, to a lifetime maximum of $2,000. For example, eligible undergraduate students in Arts who are taking a full load of courses will receive a 7.7% reduction in tuition as a result of the SAS program. They will be paying only $259 more in total net tuition in 2018-19 than they would have paid in 2014-15, a 4.5% total increase over four years. The SAS program is expected to provide U of R students with $3.25 million in tuition discounts in 2018-19, a 9% increase over the 2017-18 budgeted amount.
      
      The Saskatchewan Innovation and Opportunity Scholarship (SIOS) funding for the University, although decreased by $34,200, will still make available $735,800 to University of Regina students in 2018-19.  To satisfy the SIOS program requirements, these funds from the Government of Saskatchewan will be more than matched by awards from donors and endowments.
      
      Students who receive a University of Regina undergraduate degree and who remain in the province are also eligible under the province’s Graduate Retention Program for tax credits of up to $20,000 in tuition costs over ten years after graduation.
      
      
   3. Last year’s 2017 federal budget promised improvements to the Canada Student Loans program, with improved support for part-time students ($17 million per year) and students with dependents ($29.3 million), as well as a pilot project to support adult students returning to post-secondary education ($287.3 million over three years). These changes take effect in 2018-19.
      
      The 2017 federal budget also provided $50 million per year in funding support for First Nations students, an increase of more than 14%, for two years.
      
      In the 2018 budget the Government of Canada undertook to continue to double to 70,000 per year the work placements for youth through the Canada Summer Jobs program in 2019-20 and provide new funding, starting in 2018-19, to the Youth Employment Strategy.
      
      The 2018 Saskatchewan budget announced the end of the provincial education savings grant program, reducing the province’s spending on student financial assistance by over 25%. This will have no immediate effect on current and prospective U of R students.
      
      
   4. The 2015 CUSC survey of U of R undergraduate students about to graduate found that 49% of the respondents reported having no education-related debt. This compares to 44% in the 2012 survey.  The average debt for all graduating undergraduates was $14,085.
      
      Chart 2 shows the average debt (adjusting for inflation) reported by University of Regina graduating students (including those who report no debt) increased from 2006 to 2009 before dropping considerably in 2012 and further in 2015. In part, the decrease appears to be related to lower levels of government student loans, as there was a considerable drop in reported debt from this source in 2012 compared to 2009. For 2015, University of Regina graduating students reported an increase in student loan debt; all other commonly cited sources of debt remained steady or continued to decline, as did the overall average. The declining levels of debt seen from 2009 onward may reflect students choosing to work more while attending university, as well as the new provincial scholarship programs and the increasing assistance from the University.
      
      The CUSC graduating student survey has been repeated in 2018. Results will be available later this year.
      
      The report of a recently completed survey of all 2014 graduates from post-secondary programs in Saskatchewan conducted by the Ministry of Advanced Education shows that U of R graduates had an average debt from their program of graduation of $9,916 (compared to $8,353 for 2010 graduates). They reported total average debt from all post-secondary education programs of $13,489. This survey found that 52% of the graduates reported no debt from their post-secondary education and 57% had no debt from the U of R program from which they graduated in 2014.
      
      

      Chart 2
      

       

   5. A study published by Statistics Canada in 2014 found that “individuals who have a bachelor's degree or a college certificate have more favourable labour market outcomes over their working lives than individuals who have only a high school diploma. More specifically, the earnings premium associated with a bachelor's degree over the 20-year period (from their mid-30s to their mid-50s) ranges, on average, from $728,000 for men to $442,000 for women. For a college certificate, the premium is $248,000 for men and $180,000 for women, on average.” The study also found “that, for both men and women, a bachelor's degree and a college certificate are associated with more years of coverage in an employer-sponsored pension plan and fewer layoffs than are associated with a high school diploma” (http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11f0019m/11f0019m2014359-eng.htm).
      
      
   6. Table 3 contains a comparison of undergraduate Arts tuition and mandatory fees at 59 English-language Canadian universities in 2017-18. It demonstrates that the total of undergraduate tuition and fees at the University of Regina compares favourably to other institutions for domestic students. Only 20 of 58 other English-language universities in Canada have a total tuition and mandatory fee package for full-time undergraduate Arts students that is less than the total tuition and fees at the University of Regina. This ranking is unchanged from 2016-17. (The comparison does not include the impact of the $500 discount from the Saskatchewan Advantage Scholarship or other similar assistance programs available only to in-province students at other Canadian universities.)
      
      It should also be noted that many Canadian universities have tuition structures that differentiate tuition based on the discipline of the course taken rather than, as at the University of Regina, based on the program in which the student is enrolled. Accordingly, the figures in Table 3 compare tuition for students taking all courses in Arts. Students at other universities taking courses outside Arts may pay more than the figures in the table.
      
      The University of Saskatchewan, for example, provides on its website typical tuition fees for full-load students in various programs. According to the website data, an undergraduate student in Arts at the U of S, taking a mix of Arts and Science courses, would pay a total of $6,751 in tuition, $398 more than her counterpart at the U of R. And, she would be charged mandatory fees that are $56 more than her U of R counterpart.  https://students.usask.ca/documents/tuition-factsheet.pdf
      
      Table 3 shows the U of R relatively more expensive for international students, largely because universities in the Maritimes have lower tuition multipliers, typically 2.0-2.2 compared to 3.0 at the U of R.
      
      Tables 4 and 5 provide a comparison for graduate student tuition and fees. Only 2 of 41 English-language Canadian universities had lower costs for domestic master’s students than the University of Regina in 2017-18 and only 5 have lower costs for international Master of Arts students.
      
      Table 6 provides a comparison of the undergraduate tuition rates for the University of Regina with those approved recently at the University of Saskatchewan, where the average increase has been described as 4.8%, with increases ranging from 3.0% to 5.5% for subjects that are also offered by the University of Regina.
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      

      Table 6: Comparison with University of Saskatchewan Undergraduate Tuition,

      ($ per credit hour, 2018-19)
      
      

      Faculty/Program	U of Regina		U of Saskatchewan	U of S Increase (%)
      Arts	217.75		205.30	4.0
      Business Administration	254.25		279.70	3.0
      Education	224.00		214.70	5.0
      Engineering	241.75		236.10	4.0
      Kinesiology	230.75		212.90	4.7
      Nursing	242.50		236.30	5.0
      Science	230.75		217.80	4.0
      Computer Science	230.75		236.10	5.5
      MAP	230.75		309.101	4.0
      			1Applied Music

      
      
      The University of Saskatchewan is also increasing its undergraduate international tuition multiplier from 2.6 to 2.73; the combined impact of the base tuition increase and the increased multiplier for international students taking the “typical” Arts course load will be a 9.9% increase in tuition.
      
      At the graduate level, the University of Saskatchewan has increased tuition for 2018-19 by 5.0% for most programs, including tuition for the joint programs in the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (MPA, MPP and PhD). The U of S graduate international multiplier is also increased by 5% resulting in a 10.6% tuition increase for most international graduate students.
      
      One notable exception to the 5% increase in graduate tuition at the U of S is the Master of Business Administration for which tuition is unchanged at $30,006 for the program. (This compares to the $36,481.40 tuition cost (2017-18) for the MBA program at the Levene School of Business at the U of R; however, the U of R tuition also covers the cost of travel and accommodations for the mandatory International Study Tour.)
      
      Looking at 2018-19 tuition increases for universities in other provinces, in Ontario tuition increases continue to be capped at 3% on average for undergraduate students and 5% for professional and graduate programs, with the average increase also limited to 3%. The University of Toronto, for example, is reducing tuition for doctoral students in order to be able to apply the full 3% to undergraduate tuition and 5% for professional and masters programs. Tuition for international students is not subject to the provincial policy; the University of Toronto is increasing tuition by 6% on average for international students, except for those in PhD programs.
      
      Universities in Alberta are subject to a provincial tuition freeze which applies to domestic students’ tuition and is funded by the provincial government. The University of Alberta is increasing international undergraduate tuition by 3.14% and all residence rates by 4%.
      
      Universities in British Columbia are limited to tuition increases for domestic students by 2.0% under provincial regulations. UBC and the University of Victoria, for example, will increase domestic tuition rates by 2.0%. With respect to international student tuition, the University of Victoria undertook a review that looked at costs, comparative rates at other institutions and quality considerations. As a result, international undergraduate tuition for new students will increase by 20% in 2018-19 and a further 15% in 2019-20, with the exception of the BComm program where the increase is to be 6% in 2018-19. Continuing international undergraduate students will face a 4% increase as will new and continuing international graduate students. New MBA international students will experience 14% tuition increases in 2018-19 and again in 2019-20 and international students in the Master of Global Business will face increases of 20% for 2018-19 and again in 2019-20. UBC is increasing its international undergraduate tuition rates by 3%.
      
      In Manitoba, provincial tuition policy has changed with the maximum allowable increases to be the provincial rate of inflation plus 5%. For 2018-19, this is calculated as 6.6%.  Brandon University has announced that it is considering using the full amount allowed which would raise total tuition by about $250 per year for a full load of courses. The University of Manitoba is proposing to increase all tuition rates by 6.6%.
      
      In New Brunswick the universities are funded by the provincial government to hold tuition increases to 2.0%.
      
      
   7. The unemployment rate in Saskatchewan, at 5.8% in March 2018, is marginally improved from March 2017 and is the same as the national rate. According to Statistics Canada, “Employment in Saskatchewan has been relatively flat since the spring of 2016.” https://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/180406/dq180406a-eng.htm?HPA=1&indid=3587-2&indgeo=0
      
      The report of the survey of 2014 graduates of all post-secondary education programs in the province provides current employment rates for graduates of various institutions. The University of Regina’s rate is the highest of all institutions at 88%. This rate has remained in the 88 to 90% range over the past decade. The majority of respondents to the survey who are not employed are not looking for work, because they are in school or for personal reasons.
      
      While completing their degrees, University of Regina students earned $9.8 million in 2017 (an increase of more than 5%) from 817 co-op placements.
      
      
   8. The most recent Statistics Canada release of Consumer Price Index information (February 2018) shows the year-over-year CPI increase for Saskatchewan at 2.9%, up from 1.4% a year ago. Food costs are up 2.7% while shelter costs are up 2.0%. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/cpis01i-eng.htm 
      
      
   9. Research continues to show that, compared to other socio-economic determinants, tuition fee levels are not a major factor in post-secondary education accessibility and participation.
      
      
   10. Rental housing vacancy rates have risen in Regina to a very healthy 7.0%  from 5.5% the previous year and 3.0% in 2015 (CMHC, Oct 2017: https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/hmiportal/en/#Profile/1490/3/Regina). With this increased availability, average rents for private apartments have largely stabilized across the city, up only 0.6% compared to 2016 for 2 bedroom apartments. The rental market in the immediate neighbourhood of the University also shows increased availability with an October 2017 vacancy rate of 8.8% compared to 3.8% the year before and 0.9% in 2015. Rental inflation in this zone also shows signs of moderating, to 0.7% in October 2017 from 3.6% in 2014 and 3.4% in 2015 and 1.7% in 2016. The University’s expanded residence spaces in 2018-19 and the increased private rental availability should save students on both housing and transportation costs. The Board has approved residence rate increases of 3% for the next two years and an average increase in parking fees of 5%.
       
       
       

Tuesday 9 January 2018

New Deans in Business and Education

National searches that commenced last spring have concluded with the appointment of two new Deans.

In the Faculty of Business Administration, Dr Gina Grandy has been selected as Dean for a five-year term commencing 1 July 2018. In the Faculty of Education, Dr Jerome Cranston, currently of the University of Manitoba, has been appointed to a five-year term commencing 1 July 2018.

Dr Gina Grandy				Dr Jerome Cranston

Biographical information on both new Deans is available on the Appointments webpage, and updates on the two search processes remain available here.

The Provost would like to thank the 22 faculty, staff, students, and stakeholders who served on the two Search Advisory Committees. A special word of thanks goes to Nancy Kazeil of Human Resources and Bryanna Butz of the Provost’s Office for their key contributions to the success of the two searches.

We look forward to welcoming Drs Grandy and Cranston to Deans’ Council this summer. In the interim, Dr Andrea Sterzuk continues to serve as Acting Dean of Education, and Dr David Senkow continues to serve as Acting Dean of Business Administration. We thank Andrea and David for their valuable ongoing contributions to leadership of their respective Faculties.

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Review of the Dean of Media, Art, and Performance

Professor Rae Staseson's current term as Dean of the Faculty of Media, Art, and Performance concludes on 30 June 2019.

Per University policy on out-of-scope academic administrative appointments (available here), Dean Staseson and the Provost have had a conversation about the possibility of a second term as Dean. She has agreed to consider this possibility, and the consultative process is therefore being initiated.

Details of that process, including a draft timeline, are available on the Reviews webpage here. The review is scheduled to be complete by the end of March.

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Save the Date: 2018 Canadian Doctoral Nursing Network Conference

Tuesday 2 January 2018

Happy New Year!

Best wishes to all DCB readers for a happy, fulfilling, and rewarding New Year. There is much to look forward to on campus during 2018, including Congress 2018, progress on literally hundreds of research initiatives including antibiotic resistance and stress-related disorders, transformative teaching and learning, the move of JSGS and CCE back into the renovated College Avenue Building, completion of renovations to the residence portions of College West, and much more.

Our campus also begins 2018 celebrating some very good news: the appointment of President Vianne Timmons as an Officer of the Order of Canada. Congratulations, Vianne, on this honour!
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Lake Superior State University releases annual list of words that should be banished

According to a spokesperson, staff at LSSU have “drilled down and unpacked tons of pre-owned words and phrases deemed impactful by hundreds of nominators.” Among the words they seek to banish from the language are unpack, pre-owned, and impactful.

Alas, missing from the 2017 list, and indeed from all previous lists, is the word fulsome misused in the sense of “full and thorough,” and the recent emergence of wholesome to mean “really, really whole and complete.” Perhaps next year …

The full (not fulsome) list can be found on the Lake Superior State website here. It makes for painful reading, from actioning in 2000 to walk it back a decade and a half later.
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Myths about majors

Jeffrey J. Selingo has recently published an article outlining six major myths about choosing a university major. These include the lifetime income associated with various majors (“even English or history graduates who make just above the median lifetime earnings for their major do pretty well when compared to typical graduates in business”) and the employability of liberal arts majors (“jobs requiring both the so-called soft skills and thinking skills have seen the largest growth in employment and pay in the last three decades”).

Selingo’s article, which appears in The New York Times, is available here.
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“When [universities] lose support, we all lose”

New York Times columnist Frank Bruni recently published a piece entitled “Higher Ed’s Low Moment.”

In it, he notes that support for higher education among Americans continues to fall. Despite the fact that “a college degree is one of the surest harbingers of higher earnings and better economic security, college itself is regarded with skepticism by many Americans and outright contempt by no small number of them.”

Part of the problem, according to University of North Carolina president Margaret Spellings, is that the sector “has maintained too aloof a posture.” She argues that universities and colleges have “enjoyed this sort of send-us-the-money, leave-us-alone luxury for a long time,” and that it is no longer working, either with governments or with the public.

In response, Bruni notes that universities are now “trying to explain themselves better” to their stakeholders, something that “somehow fell by the wayside over recent decades.”

Bruni’s article is available here.

Thursday 14 December 2017

2017 workforce demographics reports now available

The 2017 Workforce Demographics Overview and the 2017 Academic Workforce Demographics report are now both available from the Human Resources reports webpage.

Bulletin readers will find much information of interest in these reports. Two samples follow:

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“Upmarket finishing schools”? Simon Jenkins argues universities must change

Today’s online edition of The Guardian carries an article by Simon Jenkins arguing, among other things, that universities are the “greatest cultural confidence trick since the medieval monastery.”

Jenkins goes on to assert that “when 50 years ago universities catered for less than 10% of the age cohort, none of this mattered.” Now, with participation rates exceeding 30% in some jurisdictions, Jenkins argues that universities must change, particularly with regard to what he describes as their “open-ended claim on the taxpayer” and what he terms their unwillingness to reform curricula from the ground up.

The article is available here.

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Sustainability: the Lab Building is now using much less energy

The 50-year-old Laboratory Building is undergoing the second phase of a multi-phased project that will address critical needs for life and building safety. The project includes fire sprinklers on the main floor and most of the upper floors, upgrade of the fire alarm system, chemical exposure control upgrades, lab safety upgrades, conversion of ventilation systems to variable air volume, and roof replacement.

The graphs below illustrate the large reduction in energy consumption and demand realized by work to date in the Lab Building.

The Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) provides up to $2 Billion to accelerate strategic construction, repair and maintenance activities at universities and colleges across Canada. Total funding from federal sources cover up to half of the project’s eligible costs, leveraging the remaining amount from non-federal partners.

The University of Regina submitted four projects for funding under the SIF program on May 9, 2016.  Two projects were awarded funding under the program with an announcement on August 19, 2016. One of them is the Lab Building second phase.

In 2015 a suite of projects were approved for Energy Retrofits funded in partnership with SaskPower through the Industrial Energy Optimization Program (IEOP). Total funding approved for the program of projects was $3.136M, which includes a contribution of $970,000 from the SaskPower IEOP.

Within the currently approved project budget for the Lab Modernization, $760,000 in HVAC upgrades to the Lab Building were planned, the scope of which includes Fume hood replacement and HVAC retrofits that meet the criteria of the IEOP program by reducing electrical demand. The introduction of the Strategic Investment Fund, with a focus on improving the environmental sustainability of research and innovation related infrastructure at post-secondary institutions, provided an opportunity to leverage the funding already approved through the IEOP program, and gain further improvements to the energy efficiency and safety of the Lab Building.

The Faculty of Science has contributed additional funding of $100,000 for the modernization of LB 313 as a showcase of future work in the existing Lab building.

There also exists $277,939 in remaining funding in the IEOP HVAC improvements project, and $61,188 for the IEOP lighting improvements project.  The Lab Building provided the highest energy savings opportunities for these funding programs, and the work is being executed as part of the overall project.

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2017 CUSC Middle Years Student Survey - Overall Satisfaction (Report 6 of 6)

Completed in Spring 2017, the 2017 CUSC Middle Years Student Survey focused on undergraduate University of Regina students who had earned between 25 and 101 credits at the time of the survey. The survey was distributed to over 56,000 students at 24 universities across Canada. In total, 15,248 students from across Canada completed the survey, including 1,065 from the University of Regina.
The Office of Resource Planning, as in past years, is publishing on its website a series of reports examining the results of the survey.

These reports contain U of R data and data from the national responses and those from universities most comparable to the U of R.

This last report in a series of six explores the satisfaction with facilities and services as well as an overall evaluation of the university experience of middle-years students who completed the survey. Here are some highlights:

• Some services are used by middle-years students more often than others. For instance, at the national level, the most used resources were on-campus bookstores (76%) and electronic library resources (73%), while few reported using facilities for student associations, clubs, etc. (14%), computer services help desk (12%), and university residences (12%).

• Given that University of Regina students tend to drive to campus more often than their peers across Canada, it might be expected that they used parking facilities (55% compared to 41% nationally and at comparable universities).
• Among those who have used academic services at the University of Regina, students reported very high levels of satisfaction, ranging from 82% to 92% who reported being satisfied or very satisfied.

• Nationally, about 9 in 10 middle-years students are satisfied with their decision to attend their university, including 24% who are very satisfied. At the University of Regina, 86% of middle-years students are satisfied with their decision to attend their university, including 16% who are very satisfied.

Should you have questions or comments related to the CUSC Supplementary Reports, contact: Martin Lopez Mendivil, Academic Program Development Consultant, martin.lopez@uregina.ca

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Best wishes for the holiday season!

Deans’ Council Bulletin will return in the new year.

Wednesday 6 December 2017

Special Edition: 2017 CUSC Middle Years Student Survey - Growth and Development (Report 5 of 6)

Tuesday 28 November 2017

Three-minute thesis

The video of the University's most recent Three-Minute Thesis competition is now available here.

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2017 CUSC Middle Years Student Survey- Activities and Commitment to Completion (Report 4 of 6)

Completed in Spring 2017, the 2017 CUSC Middle Years Student Survey focused on undergraduate University of Regina students who had earned between 25 and 101 credits at the time of the survey. The survey was distributed to over 56,000 students at 24 universities across Canada. In total, 15,248 students from across Canada completed the survey, including 1,065 from the University of Regina.

The Office of Resource Planning, as in past years, is publishing on its website a series of reports examining the results of the survey. These reports contain U of R data and data from the national responses and those from universities most comparable to the U of R.

This fourth report in a series of six explores the goal development, the perception of professors, and the satisfaction with concern shown by the university for them as individuals of middle-years students who completed the survey. Here are some highlights:

• By their middle years at the University of Regina, 9 in 10 students said they have chosen a major or discipline, although 40% have changed their major or program of study since they began their post-secondary studies.
• Students were somewhat knowledgeable about their career options, with 22% saying they know their career options very well. Another 48% said they know them fairly well.
• Overall, 94% of middle-years students at the University of Regina have taken at least one step to prepare for employment or their career after graduation.
• Students rated their level of agreement with a series of statements about their professors. Most students reported having had positive experiences with university faculty.
• Almost all students said they were given the chance to evaluate the quality of teaching in their courses, including 60% who said they were able to evaluate the teaching in all their courses.

Future weekly reports on the survey results will examine such topics as students' study patterns, commitment to completion, growth and development, and overall university experience.

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Engineering Students' Society teams up with Faculty of Engineering to fight cheating

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Centre for Continuing Education Annual Report

Over the past year, we have seen a lot of change at the Centre for Continuing Education in Regina as we continue to reach new milestones. In addition to working hard to meet our targets, we also mounted the biggest move any of us have likely experienced. Sorting, packing and moving 100 years of files, sheet music, over 60 pianos, furniture and "stuff" took months.

In the most recent version of our Annual Report we've highlighted our students and the programs we work hard to deliver to live our vision of "Expanding possibilities, strengthening communities."

The 2016-17 Annual Report is available here.

Tuesday 21 November 2017

Copyright in the Classroom

The Library is offering a session titled "Copyright in the Classroom" on Tuesday, November 28, 2017 at 2:30 p.m. This 1/2-hour session will be held on the 6th floor of the Archer Library in the Fisher Room, LY 611.2.

For more information about copyright, please see https://www.uregina.ca/copyright/.

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Graduate School of Public Policy celebrates 10th anniversary

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2017 CUSC Middle Years Student Survey - Activities and Commitment to Completion
(Report 3 of 6)

Completed in Spring 2017, the 2017 CUSC Middle Years Student Survey focused on undergraduate University of Regina students who had earned between 25 and 101 credits at the time of the survey. The survey was distributed to over 56,000 students at 24 universities across Canada. In total, 15,248 students from across Canada completed the survey, including 1,065 from the University of Regina.

Thursday 16 November 2017

Special Edition: 2017 CUSC Middle Years Student Survey - Financing Education, Debt, and Employment (Report 2 of 6)

Completed in Spring 2017, the 2017 CUSC Middle Years Student Survey focused on undergraduate University of Regina students who had earned between 25 and 101 credits at the time of the survey. The survey was distributed to over 56,000 students at 24 universities across Canada. In total, 15,248 students from across Canada completed the survey, including 1,065 from the University of Regina.

The Office of Resource Planning, as in past years, is publishing on its website a series of reports examining the results of the survey. These reports contain U of R data and data from the national responses and those from universities most comparable to the U of R.

This second report in a series of six explores the sources of financing, the employment, and the debt from financing post-secondary education of middle-years students who completed the survey. Here are some highlights:

Although statistically not significant, University of Regina students (58%) are more likely to be employed than students nationally (54%) and more likely than at comparable universities (51%).

• Nationally, the proportion of students who reported being employed increased from 34% in 2016 to 54% in 2017. In 2015, 59% of graduating students who responded to the survey said they were working.

• About 46% at the national level said their employment has a negative impact on their academic performance, compared to 47% at the University of Regina and at comparable universities.

• Most students don’t just rely on one source to finance their education. In fact, the average number of sources reported is about three, with half of University of Regina middle-years students relying on three or more sources.

• Nationally, 41% of middle-years students who responded to the survey said they have acquired repayable debt to finance their university education, compared to 44% at the University of Regina and 39% at comparable universities.

Future weekly reports on the survey results will examine such topics as students' involvement on campus and volunteer activities, perception of professors, growth and development, study patterns, commitment to completion, and overall university experience.

Tuesday 14 November 2017

Decanal search updates: shortlist announced in Business; interviews commence in Education

More campus video

Congress 2018 webpage now live; recent campus videos

As preparations for Congress 2018 on our campus next summer accelerate, the Congress webpage has gone live and will be populated with more information and links in coming months.

Check it out here.

Also, if DCB readers haven't seen the recent video of our campus, it's available for viewing here. There's also a brief video from this fall's Welcome Week available here.

Special Edition: 2017 CUSC Middle Years Student Survey - Student Demographic & Academic Profile (Report 1 of 6)

Completed in Spring 2017, the 2017 CUSC Middle Years Student Survey focused on undergraduate University of Regina students who had earned between 25 and 101 credits at the time of the survey. The survey was distributed to over 56,000 students at 24 universities across Canada. In total, 15,248 students from across Canada completed the survey, including 1,065 from the University of Regina.

The Office of Resource Planning, as in past years, is publishing on its website a series of reports examining the results of the survey. These reports contain U of R data and data from the national responses and those from universities most comparable to the U of R.

The first report explores the demographic profile, living arrangements, current employment, and methods of transportation of middle-years students who completed the survey. Here are some highlights:

• The average middle-years University of Regina student is older, about 24 years of age, than students nationally (22) and at comparable universities (22).

• University of Regina students are much more likely to report that they are of Aboriginal ancestry, (14% at the University of Regina versus 5% nationally and 4% at comparable universities).

• The percentage of University of Regina students who would choose to live on campus if given the opportunity (15%) is significantly lower than students nationally (23%), and at comparable universities (25%).

• About 1 in 4 (28%) students said they have interrupted their studies at the University of Regina for one or more terms, compared to 22% nationally and 22% at comparable universities.               

Future weekly reports on the survey results will examine such topics as students' employment, sources of financing, involvement on campus and volunteer activities, growth and development, commitment to completion, and overall university experience.

Tuesday 7 November 2017

Dr Larena Hoeber appointed Interim Associate Vice-President (Academic and Research)

Yesterday the University announced the appointment of Dr Larena Hoeber, Professor of Kinesiology and Health Studies, as Interim Associate Vice-President (Academic and Research). The appointment will commence on 14 November and end on 30 June 2018. Dr Hoeber follows Dr Dena McMartin, who will take up her new appointment at the University of Saskatchewan next week (see below).

Dr Hoeber earned her PhD in sport management from the University of British Columbia, and joined the faculty of the University of Regina in 2002. She teaches in the areas of sport management, sociology of sport, sport marketing, and qualitative research methods. Her research interests are in gender and sport, contemporary qualitative research methods, and innovation and change in amateur sport organizations. Her work has been published in top-tier journals including Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, and European Sport Management Quarterly, and outside her discipline in Online Information Review, Sex Roles, and Gender, Work and Organization. She has received over $580,000 in grant funding from external and internal granting agencies, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

From 2012 to 2016, Dr Hoeber chaired the U of R Research Ethics Board. She has also chaired the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies Strategic Planning Committee, and has served as a member of the U of R Strategic Planning Facilitation Team. She has served her scholarly community as the secretary, president-elect, president, past-president, and conference program chair for the North American Society for Sport Management.

Please join us in congratulating Larena on this appointment, and visit the Appointments and Renewals webpage here.

Details regarding the search process for the full-term Associate Vice-President will be circulated early in the new year.

Farewell to Dr Dena McMartin

As noted above, Dr Dena McMartin is leaving her position at the University of Regina to assume the role of Assistant Vice-President Research and Director, Research Services at the University of Saskatchewan, her alma mater.

First appointed to the U of R faculty in 2004, Dr McMartin has been a superb scholar, teacher, mentor, administrator, and colleague. Since January 2014, her work as Associate Vice-President (Academic and Research) has made her manifold abilities visible across campus, including La Cité Universitaire, the federated colleges, the research institutes, Canada Research Chairs, regional colleges and other academic partners, and much, much more.

All who know Dena know her extraordinary work ethic, and her commitment to her discipline and her students. Notably, despite her administrative responsibilities, she has continued to supervise a large number of master's and doctoral candidates as well as maintaining her own research program in Environmental Systems Engineering. She serves on national committees of Engineers Canada and the Canadian Coalition for Women in Engineering, Science, Trades, and Technology. In 2013, she was named a Fellow of Engineers Canada in recognition of her contributions to her discipline.

Please join us in congratulating Dr McMartin on her appointment, and in wishing her the very best as she begins this new chapter in her professional life.

Updates on current decanal searches

Kwantlen announces certificate with no textbook costs

The current issue of CPA Magazine features David Senkow, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration, who in his leisure time enjoys driving cars very, very fast (and legally). The feature can be found here.

Tuesday 26 September 2017

Dean Farenick lectures at Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris

On 13 September, Dean of Science Dr Douglas Farenick presented an invited lecture at the Workshop on Operator Algebras and Quantum Information Theory held at the Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris, France. The workshop opened a semester-long period of concentration on advances in quantum information theory, attracting many international mathematical scientists and graduate students.

Dr Farenick’s lecture, titled "Isometric and contractive channels relative to the Bures metric," was based on work published last year in the Journal of Mathematical Physics with his recently-graduated doctoral student, Mizanur Rahaman, and his BSc Honours student, Samuel Jaques, and on a paper to be published this autumn in the New York Journal of Mathematics.

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Academic unit review site visits for 2017-18

Site visits for the 2017-18 Academic Unit Reviews have been scheduled for the following units:

• 12-13 February 2018: Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research
• 22-23 March 2018: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• 12-13 April 2018: Department of Psychology
• 16-17 or 19-20 April 2018: Department of Theatre

External reviewers are now being contacted; review teams should be in place and announced by the end of October. The process is governed by the Academic Unit Review policy, which is available here.

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How things have changed: the UK

"In 1990 there were 46 universities in the UK educating about 350,000 students. Now there are at least 130, accommodating more than two million." The 24 September edition of The Observer carries an article by Tim Adams examining the challenges facing UK universities.

Writing about a new university in a Liverpool suburb, Adams notes: "Edge Hill started doing small things to create deeper connection: putting sofas outside tutors’ offices, installing catering in all the lecture buildings, open-access IT everywhere. Then it created an arts centre and a sports centre and built 2,500 flats on site. [It] added faculty after faculty, each time increasing the student body. Retention rates at the university are now more than 90%."

The article is available here.

Tuesday 19 September 2017

Livia Castellanos on international student enrolments

Last Thursday CBC Radio host Sheila Coles interviewed Associate Vice-President (International) Livia Castellanos on the subject of international student enrolments at the University of Regina. Audio of that interview is available here.

The web story associated with this interview is available here.

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Admissions and registrations of new undergraduates

Despite a downturn in the Saskatchewan high school leaving population that is projected to last until 2022, applications, offers of undergraduate admission, acceptances, and registrations have continued to climb in the last four years. Much of this growth is international students; some is out-of-province Canadian students.

Undergraduate enrolment funnel data, 2014—2017 (domestic and international)

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Enrolments and credit hours: Fall 2017

• Fall registered student numbers and credit hours have grown for the ninth consecutive year. In the context of a declining Saskatchewan high-school graduating cohort, this increase is evidence that (1) the University of Regina is the first choice of an increasing number of students in Saskatchewan (2) out-of-province advertising and recruitment are effective, especially in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario (3) the strategic approach to international recruitment and retention by UR International continues to generate strong international enrolments and retention in an increasingly competitive national context and (4) graduate enrolments continue to grow, demonstrating the attractiveness of newer offerings and the increasing attractiveness of research-based graduate degrees, as well as increased financial support of students registered in these programs.

• Target headcount enrolment for fall 2017 is 15,000 students, an increase of 1% over the previous historical high point achieved in fall 2016. The official count date occurs in mid-October following the end of the fourth week of classes.

• As of 5 September 2017, actual headcount was 15,189, an increase of 2.9% over the same point in term last year. Credit hours are 152,995, an increase of 3.2%.
  
  

Headcounts and credit hours: full campus system, 2014—present

• Areas of notable credit hour growth are Kinesiology and Health Studies (up 14.1% year over year), Social Work (up 10.2%), and Media, Art, and Performance (up 7.9%).

• The number of graduate students, as of the first day of classes (1,932), is up by 3.2% compared to last year at this time and 12.4% compared to fall 2015.

• Engineering enrolments have declined slightly after a number of years of substantial growth. However, the number of credit hours to be taught in Engineering is still up this year by another 0.7%, 3.4% more than 2016 at this date.

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Student financial support

• According to just-released CAUBO/StatsCan data, the University of Regina ranks 2^nd highest among Canadian comprehensive universities in the percentage of tuition and fee revenue returned to students in the form of scholarships, bursaries, and prizes (all sources).

• 29% of tuition and fee revenue, or $22.8 million, was returned to students in 2015-16.

Total Scholarships as a Percentage of Tuition and Fees among Maclean’s Comprehensive Universities, 2015-16

The graphic above compares tuition and fee revenues to scholarship, bursary and prizes awarded to students among comprehensive institutions from Maclean’s magazines’ university rankings plus the University of Saskatchewan. The calculation divides scholarship, bursary and prize expenditures (from all funds) by the amount of tuition and fee revenue as reported in the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO) annual publication of Canadian university financial data – 2015/16 data released in July 2017.

The results show that relative to many of its comprehensive peers, the University of Regina (29%) ranks second behind only Memorial University (49%) in the amount it expends in providing scholarships and other forms of support for its students annually. The U of R’s figure can also be compared to that at the University of Saskatchewan (33%) which has much richer trust and endowment resources. Nationally, the average among all the comprehensive institutions was 19%. In short, for every $1.00 in tuition revenues charged by the average comprehensive institution, $0.19 was returned in the form of scholarships, bursaries and other prizes. The University of Regina returns $0.29 in scholarships, bursaries and prizes.

The results for 2015/16 are slightly lower than those for 2014/15. Among comprehensive institutions the University of Regina was third in 2014/15 at 32% with Memorial University, with much lower tuition rates, again first at 43%.

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Student debt

• A 2015 survey of University of Regina graduating students indicated that 49% reported having no education-related debt from their undergraduate studies. This compares to 50% of graduating students nationally and 53% of those at comparable Canadian universities. It compares to 44% reported by University of Regina graduates in the 2012 survey. The declining levels of debt may reflect students choosing to work more while attending university, as well as government scholarship programs and increased scholarship support from the University.

• Including those reporting no graduating debt, the average debt among graduating University of Regina students was $14,085. This is 5.6% higher than the average debt of students nationally ($13,331) and 3.9% lower than students at comparable institutions ($14,663).

• University of Regina students are therefore, on average, borrowing just over $14,000 to finance an investment in their education that returns over $1 million during their working lives.

• These results were confirmed in a survey of 2014 post-secondary graduates from all Saskatchewan institutions and programs conducted by the Ministry of Advanced Education in 2016. 52% of University of Regina students reported having no debt on graduation from all of their post-secondary programs. The average debt was $13,489. Debt from the program they just completed averaged $9,916. (This survey included both undergraduate and graduate students.) This last figure reflects a 19% increase from the $8,353 average debt reported in a similar survey conducted of 2010 graduates, an average increase of 4.4% per year over the 4 year period.

Friday 18 August 2017

Academic Unit Reviews

All external reviewers' reports for the Academic Unit Reviews conducted this spring (Biology, Computer Science, Education, Geography, and the University Library) are now available via the AUR webpage. They will be discussed this fall at CCAM.

Academic Unit Reviews for the 2017-18 academic year include Chemistry & Biochemistry, FGSR, Psychology, and Theatre. Planning has begun for these reviews, with site visits occurring between February and April 2018. Details of each review will be posted to the AUR site as they become available.

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Senior searches and reviews

National searches are underway for deans of Business and Education, with regular updates posted to the respective search webpages.

The review of the Dean of Engineering and Applied Science has concluded and President Timmons has accepted the recommendation that Dr Esam Hussein  be offered a second term as Dean of Engineering and Applied Science.  Dr Hussein has accepted reappointment for a second five-year term, effective 1 July 2018.

Dr Hussein joined the University of Regina as Dean and Professor of Engineering and Applied Science in 2013. A nuclear engineer, he holds degrees from Alexandria University in Egypt (BSc, MSc) and McMaster University (PhD). He came to the University of Regina from the University of New Brunswick, where he held a variety of roles including Associate Dean of Engineering, Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and faculty member on the Board of Governors. He also served successively as vice-president and president of the Association of University of New Brunswick Teachers. He received an Innovation Achievement Award from the Canadian Nuclear Society and a Sylvia Fedoruk award for best paper in medical physics from the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine. His research has been funded by NSERC, the US Federal Aviation Administration, the New Brunswick Medical Research Fund, and the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation, among others. His books have been published by Elsevier and Kluwer/Springer, and his articles have appeared in leading journals including IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Physics in Medicine and Biology, and numerous others. He is a registered professional engineer in Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Ontario.

A review of the Associate Vice-President (Academic and Research), currently in the penultimate year of her appointment, will be initiated this fall. Details will follow in September.

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New members of Deans' Council

Joining Deans' Council for the 2017-18 academic year are Dr Andrea Sterzuk, Acting Dean of Education, and Dr David Senkow, Acting Dean of Business Administration. Biographical details are available here. Deans' Council also welcomes the new Vice-President, Academic of First Nations University, Dr Bob Kayseas. Biographical details are available here.

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Canada 150 Research Chairs

In response to the federal government’s July announcement of the Canada 150 Research Chairs program, the University of Regina identified 5 areas for potential recruitment.

Thanks to the hard work and coordination of search committees and staff in the Research Office, Human Resources and the Faculties, candidates were reviewed for all 5 potential C150 chairs. The University of Regina is pursuing 3 nominations to be registered on 18 August with full application packages due 15 September. Thank you to all colleagues who contributed to this very rapid and high pressure opportunity to continue to build and support research with impact at the University of Regina.