Category: New Appointments

New appointment to inclusive education

Kyle Robinson joined the Faculty of Education effective July 1, 2019 in a tenure track position in Inclusive Education. Robinson is near completion of his Ph.D. from Queen’s University with an anticipated defense date in early fall 2019. Robinson obtained his Master of Education (’15) in Cognitive Studies, a Bachelor of Education (’13), and a Bachelor of Arts, Honors (’12) from Queen’s University. He taught and served as a research and teaching assistant at Queen’s for the past six years.

Robinson has been the recipient of numerous awards, honours, grants and fellowships. His research is focused on developing a socially valid model of parental advocacy for children and youth, and his scholarly interest and commitment align well with the focus of the Inclusive Education subject area’s commitment to the developmental well-being of children and youth, and to the Faculty of Education’s commitment to social justice through holistic approaches to childhood development and learning.

New appointment: Directeur of le Bac

Jean Dufresne accepted the role of Directeur of le Bac effective Jul 01, 2019 until June 30, 2021. Dufresne has been a valuable member of the Bac team over the years and most recently served as the Interim Co-Director of the Bac.

Dufresne taught with the Regina Catholic School Division and started his teaching career at Dr. Martin LeBoldus High School in 1987. Between 1994 and 1998, Dufresne was seconded to the Department of Education to work on the secondary French Immersion curriculum guide. He was curriculum developer/writer for Français immersion 10, 20, 30, and Intégré A20 and B20. Dufresne has been a valuable member of the Faculty for over 10 years, contributing immensely to the growth of the le Bac program.

New Associate Dean Appointment

Dr. Pamela Osmond-Johnson

Dr. Pamela Osmond-Johnson has accepted the appointment as Associate Dean, Student Services & Undergraduate Programs for a term of three (3) years effective July 1, 2019 until June 30, 2022.

Osmond-Johnson is a tenured Associate Professor of Educational Leadership with the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina. She also serves as the Educational Core Studies subject area chair.  Osmond-Johnson is a former high-school teacher and school administrator, and much of her research has centered on teacher professionalism and teacher professional development. In 2017, Osmond-Johnson was the recipient of the Pat Clifford Award, recognizing her research contributions. Her recent co-authored works include a national report on The Status of Educators; Professional Learning in Canada, funded by Learning Forward; and Empowered Educators in Canada, part of Linda Darling-Hammond’s Empowered Educators book series.

New lecturer in elementary education

Audrey Aamodt

Audrey Aamodt joined the Faculty of Education, University of Regina July 1, 2019 as a lecturer in elementary education. Aamodt holds a Master of Arts (’10) in Environmental Education and Communication from Royal Roads University, and a Bachelor of Arts (’03), Major in Mathematics and Minor in Biology from the University of Regina.

Aamodt has successfully taught and supervised teacher interns in the Faculty of Education since 2011. She has been invested in, and is a contributing member to, the Faculty’s efforts to indigenize its curriculum and programs. During her graduate studies, Aamodt authored and co-authored a number of publications and engaged in a number of scholarly presentations.

New Appointment to Centre for Teaching and Learning

“I’ve always thought of the Centre as a hub of exchange for the enhancement and enrichment of our own capacities.”

Dr. Kathryn Ricketts has been appointed as Coordinator of the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) for a one-year term that began September 1, 2018. Kathryn brings a wealth of experience from her work with the CTL at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and from serving as a member of the University of Regina’s CTL’s Advisory group since 2014. Kathryn also designed and co-taught the Graduate Student Teaching Development Certificate offered by the CTL each year.

Though Kathryn is a practicing dancer, actor, and visual artist, she says, “I love, and have always loved, the field of education, so much so that I wanted to do my graduate work in education, so I could continue to work with my practicing art forms as a mobilizing force for education.” Kathryn holds a PhD in Arts Education from SFU, and is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education, University of Regina. From her teaching and research in the areas of literacy, embodiment and cultural studies, movement, and visual arts, Kathryn has come to believe “that people need to work artfully in education, whether they consider themselves artists or not; they need to embrace artful and embodied practices,” she says. Though Kathryn has an extensive background in curriculum design, delivery, and assessment, she hopes to draw on expertise throughout the university, through offering panel discussions and establishing partnerships with other units and centres at the U of R. Within this one-year term, Kathryn hopes to “build something that will have a future beyond the interim period, … to give the Centre traction.” Fresh from her UR Leadership course, Kathryn says, I’m feeling primed and happy to be a leader in a situation that I believe in. I have the opportunity to build something that will make a difference in this University.”

In terms of her vision, Kathryn says, “I’m working towards thinking of the CTL as an idea hub. There are a lot of stigmas in a teaching and learning centre being thought of as a remedial place for broken teaching. I’ve always thought of the Centre as a hub of exchange for the enhancement and enrichment of our own capacities.” Recalling her experiences in Apple stores as a model, Kathryn says, “There’s all these folks that don’t make me feel stupid about the fact I haven’t updated my iPad for a couple of years, or that I didn’t know about this or that. They actually hands off empower me to enhance my skills with technology, and they do it in a way that has a certain kind of grace. For me that’s a beautiful vision, to create a centre where we understand how busy faculty are, that they can’t register all the time, can’t commit for this or that sequence of events, but they need something fast, and they need something that doesn’t make them feel that they are running on a deficit.” All of this would take longer than a 1-year interim, so for now, Kathryn says, “I’m thinking of this year as a dance that I’m learning the steps to by listening to my partners; the whole university is now my sandbox.”

 

New Appointment

The Faculty extends a warm welcome to Dr. Melanie Brice who joined the Faculty of Education, University of Regina on August 1, 2018.

Dr. Brice holds a Ph.D. (Elementary Education from the University of Alberta), and her dissertation was titled “’Don’t step on each other’s words’: Aboriginal children in legitimate peripheral participation with multiliteracies.” Dr. Brice  has the following degrees: M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies), B.A. (Linguistics), & B. Ed. With Distinction from the SUNTEP program at the University of Saskatchewan. Most recently she held a position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum Studies in the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Brice is Métis and has, by her own account, “lived experience in an Indigenous context and strong understanding of Indigenous histories, cultures, languages and literacies, perspectives, educational experiences, and cross-cultural education issues.”

New Appointment: Associate Dean, Faculty Development and Human Resources

Dr. Patrick Lewis

Dr. Patrick Lewis, Professor (Early Childhood Education) will assume the role of Associate Dean, Faculty Development and Human Resources (FDHR), beginning July 15, 2018.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Paul Clarke

Many thanks to Dr. Paul Clarke for his hard work, his outstanding contributions, and his dedication to the Faculty as he served in this role for the past four years.

Acting Dean Andrea Sterzuk says, “We are indebted to you Paul for your painstaking thoroughness in the process of performance reviews and the many searches conducted through the office of the Associate Dean, FDHR.”

 

New appointment to Assessment and Evaluation

The Faculty of Education is pleased to announce that we will be welcoming Dr. Cristyne Hébert to our Faculty as an Assistant Professor on July 1, 2018 in a tenure-track position working in the area of Assessment and Evaluation.

Dr. Hébert earned a PhD in Education from York University in 2015 where she is currently a postdoctoral researcher. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships (including a SSHRC doctoral fellowship), authored many refereed publications and has extensive university teaching experience stemming from time spent in four Canadian universities. We know that Dr. Hébert will make strong contributions in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service. We look forward to having her as a member of the Faculty and our community.

Heartfelt thanks to the members of the search committee: Dr. Paul Clarke (Chair), Dr. Christine Massing, Dr. Marc Spooner, Dr. Joël Thibeault and Dr. Kristi Wright (Psychology), and special thanks to Laurie Lindsay for all her organizational work.

Dean of Education Appointment

Dr. Jerome Cranston (Source: University of Manitoba)

Dr. Jerome Cranston of the University of Manitoba has accepted appointment as Dean of Education at the University of Regina. The appointment is effective 1 July 2018.

Dr. Cranston is presently the Executive Director, Student Engagement & Academic Success, and Associate Professor of Educational Administration at University of Manitoba. He holds a PhD from the University of Manitoba, an MEd from the University of Lethbridge, and both the BEd and the BSc from the University of Alberta.

Prior to assuming his current role as Executive Director, he was Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs) in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba. He is also an adjunct in Peace and Conflict Studies there, and a research associate with the Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice, and serves both on the Advisory Board and as a research affiliate for the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Cranston also serves on the Board of Directors for the Gonzaga Middle School in Winnipeg, a new school developed on the Nativity School model.

Before beginning his career at the University of Manitoba, he spent 16 years in the K-12 education system as teacher, principal, and superintendent in a career that spanned Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Dr. Cranston is a scholar, practitioner, and learner in the broad field of educational administration, management, and leadership. He researches and teaches as part of a transdisciplinary international community of enquiry on topics of education, social injustice, peace, and human rights education.

Dr. Cranston’s work on teachers’ conceptions of peace in post-genocide Rwanda earned him a 2015 American Educational Research Association award in Peace Education.

Dr. Cranston characterizes himself as “an immigrant descended from tribal and Anglo-Burmese ancestors and Scottish forebears.” He writes that he is “both colonizer and also colonized, but consummately Brown and committed to building healthy and reciprocally respectful relationships across diverse communities. I am fortunate to have married my best friend and contributed to the development of three amazing grown children.”

Dr. Andrea Sterzuk will continue to serve as Acting Dean of Education until June 30, 2018.

Thanks again to the members of the Search Advisory Committee for their commitment to a thorough search process: Alec Couros, Jenn de Lugt, Rochelle Fenwick, Emily Grafton, Xia Ji, Tish Karpa, Kristina Lee, Barbara McNeil, Pamela Osmond-Johnson, and Michelle Sorenson. Thanks also to Nancy Kazeil of Human Resources and Bryanna Butz for their key contributions to the success of this search.

~Dr. Thomas Chase, Provost and Vice-President (Academic)

New Chair of Indigenization

Dr. Anna-Leah King Photo credit: UR Photography

The Faculty of Education’s commitment to Indigenization is reflected in our strategic plan. In light of our commitment, the position of Chair of Indigenization was created. The Chair of Indigenization was offered to Dr. Anna-Leah King and she has accepted.

Among other responsibilities, Dr. King will provide leadership; oversee implementation of the Faculty Indigenization commitment; liaise and support the work of Elders, old ones, knowledge keepers; provide guidance to faculty, staff, and students with respect to protocols and create opportunities for faculty and staff to engage in learning and professional development with Indigenization.

Congratulations Dr. King!