Ilene Busch-Vishniac was named president of the University of Saskatchewan. She takes up her new post July 1. Dr. Busch-Vishniac is currently the provost and vice-president, academic, at McMaster University. Prior to joining McMaster, she served as dean of engineering at Johns Hopkins University and associate chair of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. A graduate of the University of Rochester, Dr. Busch-Vishniac earned a master of science and PhD in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The University of Lethbridge appointed Helen Kelley to a three-year term as assistant dean of the school of graduate studies, effective Jan. 1. Since 2006, Dr. Kelley has served as director of the master of science in management program at U of L. She has taught in the faculty of management since 1992.

The University of Alberta appointed Brendan Hokowhitu dean of the faculty of Native studies. His appointment begins July 1 for a five-year term. Dr. Hokowhitu, a member of the Mãori people of New Zealand, comes to U of A from the University of Otago, where he is currently an associate professor in the school of Mãori, Pacific and Indigenous studies.

Constance Backhouse is the 2011 recipient of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s gold medal for research achievement. This annual prize is awarded to an individual whose leadership, dedication and originality of thought have significantly advanced understanding in his or her field of research. This prize is accompanied by a $100,000 research grant. Ms. Backhouse holds the titles of distinguished university professor and university research chair in the faculty of law at the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on the experiences of regular Canadians within the justice system.

Indira Samarasekera, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta, is the 2012 recipient of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education District VIII Leadership Award. The award recognizes a president or other leader of a district member institution for outstanding efforts to promote understanding and support of higher education. CASE District VIII includes the western Canadian provinces and territories as well as the Pacific Northwest states.

Wifrid Laurier University appointed Corinne Dixon its new director of health services. Dr. Dixon has worked at Laurier as a staff physician since 1988. She also runs a private family medical practice in Kitchener, Ontario. Since 2007, she has been lead physician for the Waterloo Region Family Health Organization.

Emily Carr University of Art + Design appointed Broek Bosma associate vice-president of advancement and alumni affairs. Mr. Bosma joined Emily Carr in January from the Sunnybrook Foundation, where he was senior campaign director. Before that he developed strategic and development plans for the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Orchestra London Canada and the Prince George Conservatory of Music.

Judith Lapadat was appointed the University of Lethbridge’s first associate vice-president, students. She will start her term in spring 2012. Dr. Lapadat is currently a professor in the school of education at the University of Northern British Columbia. Before starting an academic career, Dr. Lapadat worked as a speech pathologist.

William Cheaib was appointed acting associate vice-president, international, for a one-year term at Concordia University. He began his term in January. Previously, he was director of Concordia International. In addition to his duties at Concordia, Mr. Cheaib also serves as a board member of the Canadian Bureau for International Education.

As of Dec. 2, Mary Ann Daye is the new director of alumni engagement at Saint Mary’s University. Ms. Day comes to SMU from Dalhousie University, where she had worked for the past 18 years, in the departments of external relations and science. She has also served on the board of the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education, most recently as vice-president, outreach.

Marie Claire Morin was appointed Concordia University’s new vice-president, advancement and alumni relations, effective Jan. 9. She comes to Concordia after serving as founding president and CEO of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, a position she’d held since 1998. Before that, Ms. Morin was president and chief operating officer of the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Lily Fraser was appointed St. Thomas University’s vice-president, finance and administration, effective Jan. 3. Before that, she worked for almost two decades in the government of New Brunswick in senior management positions in the departments of health and community services, social development, and agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries. Most recently, she worked as assistant deputy minister for adult learning and employment in the department of postsecondary education, training and labour.

Leonard Waverman was reappointed dean of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, effective July 1. He first joined the U of Calgary in 2008. Previously, Dr. Waverman was a professor of economics at the London Business School. He also served as a non-executive board member of the U.K.’s energy regulator, the Gas and Electricity Market Authority.

Karen Grant was appointed to a five-year term as Mount Allison University’s provost and vice-president, academic and research, effective Aug. 1. Dr. Grant currently works at the University of Manitoba as vice-provost, academic affairs. She has been working at U of M since 1995. She is also currently the vice-president, research policy, for the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Renowned businessman and philanthropist Joseph L. Rotman is the new chancellor of the University of Western Ontario. His four-year term begins July 1. Mr. Rotman has been involved over his long career in the establishment of a number of private and public companies active in oil trading, petroleum distribution, oil and gas exploration, merchant banking, real estate and venture capital. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1995 and was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame as a Companion in May 2009.

Herbert Enns is inaugural director of the newly created Cisco Innovation Centre for Collaborative Technologies at the University of Winnipeg. Professor Enns is seconded to U of Winnipeg while remaining a professor of architecture at the University of Manitoba. He has been teaching at U of M since 1992.

Glenn Blackwood is the new vice-president of Memorial University for the Fisheries and Marine Institute. His appointment took effect Nov. 1. For the past six years, Mr. Blackwood served as executive director of the institute. Prior to that, he was director of the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Resources within the institute’s school of fisheries.

Dominique McCaughey was appointed to the newly created position of associate vice-president, advancement and alumni relations, at Concordia University. Prior to her appointment, Ms. McCaughey served as acting vice-president, advancement and alumni affairs. She has held several different positions at Concordia over the years, including principal director of development, special initiatives; acting director of campaigns; and director, special initiatives.

Trinity Western University appointed Derek Dawson senior vice-president, business affairs. Previously, he was the senior vice-president of Focus on the Family Canada, a Christian charitable organization. Before that, he was a lecturer at Wilfrid Laurier University in the school of business and economics. He also previously worked in the Canadian Air Force as an air navigator, doing famine relief work in Somalia, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

Redeemer University College appointed Fred Verwoerd vice-president, administration and finance. His appointment took effect in January. Mr. Verwoerd comes to Redeemer from Hobb & Company, an accounting firm in Courtice, Ontario, where he was the business manager for the past 10 years.

Yves Alarie is the new director of research, development and creativity at Laurentian University. His appointment runs until 2016. Dr. Alarie has been a biology professor at Laurentian since 1993. Before that, he taught biochemistry at Collège Universitaire de St-Boniface (now Université de Saint-Boniface) and entomology at the University of Manitoba.

David Barnard, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Manitoba, was reappointed to a second five-year term that begins July 1, 2013. Dr. Barnard was first appointed president of the university on July 1, 2008. Prior to his appointment, he was chief operating officer of iQmetrix, an IT company that provides information and technology solutions for the retail sector. He also served as president of the University of Regina from 1998 to 2005.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council awarded the 2011 Aurora Prize to James Stewart, an assistant professor of law at the University of British Columbia. The $25,000 prize is awarded to an individual whose work has earned them a reputation for original and exciting new research, and who has been deemed an outstanding emerging researcher. Mr. Stewart’s project examines the implications of prosecuting corporations and business representatives for acts such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. His research aims to show how existing international criminal laws could be used to help prevent atrocities, rather than simply to prosecute offenders after the fact.

The University of Ottawa appointed as chancellor the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, former Governor General of Canada. She will begin her term on Feb. 1, 2012. Before being named Governor General in 2005, Ms. Jean was a TV journalist, anchor and host of news programs on Radio–Canada and CBC Newsworld. She also previously taught Italian at Université de Montréal. She currently serves as the UNESCO Special Envoy for Haiti.

David Schantz is the new vice-president, academic and research, at Algoma University. Dr. Schantz comes to Algoma from the University of Regina, where he served as dean in the faculty of social work since 2006. Before that, he was a social worker in the states of Georgia, Montana and Washington. He also taught in the social work departments at Seattle Pacific University and the University of Montana.

Michael B. Percy of the University of Alberta has agreed to serve as interim dean of the faculty of business and economics at the University of Winnipeg, starting Nov. 15. He will serve during the search for a permanent dean, which is expected to be completed by July 2012. While serving as interim dean, Dr. Percy will remain an economics professor at the U of A. He had been dean of the university’s Alberta School of Business since 1997. From 1993 to 1997, he took academic leave and served one term as a member of the Alberta legislature.

Tony Vannelli was reappointed dean of the University of Guelph’s College of Physical and Engineering Science for a five-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2012. Dr. Vannelli joined U of G in 2007 from the University of Waterloo, where he was a professor of electrical and computer engineering and associate dean of research and external partnerships.

OCAD University appointed Tom Barker chair of its Digital Futures Initiative beginning in January 2012. Prior to joining OCAD University, Mr. Barker was a professor of architecture, innovation and design in the faculty of design, architecture and building at Australia’s University of Technology, Sydney. He is also the inventor of large-scale digital displays called SmartSlab. The Digital Futures Initiative is a set of new cross-disciplinary programs, research and innovation activities at OCAD U.

Trent University appointed Steven Pillar its new vice-president, administration, effective Feb. 1, 2012, for a renewable five-year term. Mr. Pillar is currently the vice-president, finance and administration, at Brock University, having served in this capacity since 2002. Prior to his appointment at Brock, he was Saskatchewan’s deputy minister of labour and earlier held a number of administrative positions in the Saskatchewan provincial government, including senior roles in finance, social services, education and health.

Wilfrid Laurier University mathematics professor Marc Kilgour is the new president of the Peace Science Society. The Peace Science Society, established in 1963, aims to encourage the scientific study of peace analysis and conflict management. Dr. Kilgour, who is chair of the mathematics department at Laurier, has been a member of the society since 1998.

Brenda Milner has added to her long list of awards by receiving the 2011 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize from Rockefeller University. The prize recognizes female scientists who have made exceptional contributions to biomedical science. She is the first Canadian to win the award, with a $100,000 honorarium, since its inception in 2004. Dr. Milner, the Dorothy J. Killam Professor at McGill University’s Montreal Neurological Institute, is a pioneer in the field of cognitive neuroscience whose discoveries revolutionized the understanding of memory. She is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and the National Academy of Sciences, a Companion of the Order of Canada, and winner of the Gairdner Foundation International Award in 2005 and the Balzan Prize in 2009.

Barbara Decker-Pierce was reappointed director of the King’s University College school of social work. King’s is affiliated with the University of Western Ontario. Dr. Decker-Pierce’s appointment runs until June 2015. She has worked at King’s since 2007.

Paul Kubes of the University of Calgary was named Health Researcher of the Year by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Dr. Kubes is a professor in the faculty of medicine and director of the university’s Snyder Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation. As lead researcher of the Alberta Sepsis Network, he has been examining the role that leukocytes play in preventing and reversing sepsis. His research is also providing insights into the immunological effects of stroke, cancer, diabetes and other immune-related diseases. The CIHR’s Canadian Researcher of the Year Prize (formerly the Michael Smith Prize in Health Research) is awarded annually and consists of a medal and a research grant of $500,000 spread over five years.

The University of Toronto reappointed Janice Gross Stein as head of the Munk School of Global Affairs for a two-year term beginning July 1, 2012. She has served as founding director of the Munk school since 2008 and was founding director of its predecessor, the Munk Centre for International Studies. Dr. Stein is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario. She has been a political science professor at U of T since 1982.

Kwantlen Polytechnic University appointed George Verghese dean in the faculty of design. For the past 13 years he worked at the University of Technology, Sydney, in Australia. For the past seven of those years, he was course director of post-graduate design and senior lecturer. Prior to his move to Australia, Prof. Verghese was chair of the school of interior design at Ryerson University.

The 2011 3M National Teaching Fellows were named in March by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. The awards recognize teaching excellence and scholarship with a commitment to enhance the educational experience of learners. This year’s winners are:

• Diana Austin, professor of English, University of New Brunswick;
• Lisa Dickson, professor of English, University of Northern British Columbia;
• Arne Kislenko, professor of history, Ryerson University;
• Maureen Mancuso professor of political science, provost and vice- president, academic, University of Guelph;
• Nick Mount, professor of English, University of Toronto;
• Scott North, professor of oncology, University of Alberta;
• Fred Phillips, professor of accounting, University of Saskatchewan;
• Leslie Reid, the Tamaratt Teaching Professor in Geoscience, University of Calgary;
• Adam Sarty, professor of physics, Saint Mary’s University; and
• Billy Strean, professor of physical education, U of A.

Recipients will attend a scholarly retreat in November at the Château Montebello, in Montebello, Quebec, to share experiences and ideas.

Brandon University appointed Sal Badali dean of education, effective July 1. Dr. Badali comes to Brandon from the University of Regina, where he is currently associate dean of faculty development and human resources in the faculty of education. Before that, he was at the University of British Columbia’s Centre for the Study of Curriculum and Instruction, where he obtained his PhD.