The University of Waterloo named Sandra G. Banks its new vice-president, university relations. Currently the CEO of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Ms. Banks joins the university April 6. She spent 15 years at Coca-Cola Canada as vice-president, public affairs and communications. Before that she was the assistant deputy minister in the food industry division at Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in 1996 and 1997.
Stephen Watt, a professor of computer science at Western University, has been named dean of mathematics at the University of Waterloo. He began his career in 1984 as a researcher at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. In 2011, he was named distinguished university professor at Western. His five-year term as commences July 1.
Starting in July, Robert Summerby-Murray becomes the next president of Saint Mary’s University. Dr. Summerby-Murray has been dean of arts and social sciences at Dalhousie University since 2010. He first came to Canada from New Zealand in 1986 to pursue a PhD in geography at the University of Toronto. He served as dean of social sciences at Mount Allison University for seven years and was named a 3M National Teaching Fellow in 2006.
Suzanne Blanchard has been named vice-president, students and enrolment, at Carleton University. She will also maintain the role of University Registrar. The promotion recognizes Ms. Blanchard’s successful work leading student recruitment campaigns and for her commitment to positive student experience. In this vein, she played a key role in the establishment of Carleton’s Mental Health Initiative. She first came to Carleton as director of admission services.
Colleen Cook was reappointed the Trenholme Dean of Libraries at McGill University for a second five-year term. Since taking on the role in 2011, Dr. Cook also serves as a professor in McGill’s School of Information Science. Prior to that, Dr. Cook held the Sterling C. Evans Endowed Chair and served as dean of libraries at Texas A&M University.
Western University appointed Jana Luker associate vice-president, student experience, for a five-year term effective June 1. Since 2007, Ms. Luker has been executive director, services for students, at McGill University. Prior to that, Ms. Luker held several leadership positions in student services, including stretches as dean of students and director of ancillary services at the University of Toronto and as vice-president, student services, at St. Francis Xavier University from 2004 to 2007.
On Feb. 1, Royal Roads University appointed Pedro Márquez to the new position of vice-president, global, marketing and business development. Dr. Márquez has been dean of the faculty of management at Royal Roads for seven years and recently served as the university’s acting vice president. He previously held several positions at Tecnólogico de Monterrey in Mexico City, including dean of the business school and academic director of the CEMEX International Management Program.
The University of Guelph named Daniel Atlin vice-president, external, beginning March 16. He joins U of Guelph from Toronto’s Seneca College, where he has been vice-president, strategy and college affair,s since 2009. He was previously assistant vice-president, government, institutional and community relations, at the University of Toronto and vice-president, corporate services and corporate secretary, at the Credit Union Central of Ontario.
Effective July 1, Lesley Rigg becomes dean of science at the University of Calgary. She currently serves as vice-president for research and innovation partnerships at Northern Illinois University and is president of NIU’s Northern Illinois Research Foundation. She has previously worked as associate dean for research and graduate affairs at NIU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Her research interests include biogeography with an emphasis on forest ecosystems and vegetation dynamics.
Iris Petten has been appointed chair of the Board of Regents at Memorial University. Ms. Petten, a Memorial alumna, is a senior executive in the fishing industry. She’s worked as corporate director of Canship Ugland Ltd., Penney Ugland Ltd., Canada Post Corporation and Oceanex, and formerly served on the advisory committee for Memorial’s Fisheries and Marine Institute.
Robert Bailey becomes the new associate provost of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, effective July 1. He comes to UOIT from Cape Breton University, where he is provost and vice-president, academic and professional studies. Prior to this, he was the inaugural director of the interdisciplinary Centre for Environment and Sustainability at Western University. From 2007 to 2011, he also served as president of the Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies.
Former federal finance minister Michael H. Wilson will serve a second two-year term as chancellor of the University of Toronto. Currently the chair of Barclays Capital Canada Inc., Mr. Wilson has had an extensive career in both investment banking and public service. He served as the federal minister of finance from 1984 to 1991, as Minister of Industry, Science and Technology and as Minister for International Trade from 1991 to 1993. From 2006 to 2009 he was Canada’s ambassador to the United States. His first term as chancellor began on July 1, 2012.
The University of Prince Edward Island has tapped Greg Keefe as the next dean of the Atlantic Veterinary College. An expert in dairy production and infectious disease epidemiology, Dr. Keefe has worked at UPEI since 1996, becoming a full professor in 2005. He holds an MBA specializing in agriculture, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Guelph and an MSc in epidemiology from UPEI. His appointment began March 1.
Effective March 1, Debbie MacLellan is the new dean of science at the University of Prince Edward Island. A UPEI alumna, Dr. MacLellan retured to the institution in 1990 as an assistant professor in the department of family and nutritional sciences before becoming a full professor in 2007. She has been interim dean of science since July 2012.
Wisdom Tettey was appointed dean of the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus for a five-year term beginning July 1. Dr.Tettey has served as dean of the faculty of creative and critical studies on the Okanagan campus since joining UBC in July 2011. Prior to that, he was interim dean of the University of Calgary’s faculty of communication and culture and later appointed associate dean-designate for interdisciplinarity in the faculty of arts.
Axel Becke, holder of the Killam Chair in Computational Science at Dalhousie University, is the recipient of this year’s Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering. The prestigious award, administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, comes with a grant of up to $1 million. Between 1981 and 2010, Dr. Becke was the third most cited physicist in the world with 62,581 citations, and one of only three with more than 60,000 citations. Over the course of his career, he has been cited over 87,800 times and authored the second and third most cited physics papers ever. In 2000, he was named a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.