Dear Colleagues,
I am very excited to serve as Sheridan’s next Provost and Vice President, Academic. As part of my commitment to uphold the spirit of transparency and consultation that’s long been a hallmark of this role at Sheridan, I am writing to provide you with several updates regarding the Academic Division.
I am pleased to advise that the Deans of FAAD, FAHCS, FHASS, FAST and PSB, the Director of CAPS (Continuing and Professional Studies), the Vice-Provost, Academic, the Vice-Provost, Research and the Director of Academic Resource Planning will continue reporting to me in my new role as Provost. Until the Vice-President, Student Experience and Enrolment Management is recruited, Library and Learning Services as well as Student Affairs will also report to me. Thereafter, they will shift to the new portfolio.
We will be moving quickly to hire a new Vice-Provost, Academic; recruitment for this key leadership position will commence immediately. The Vice-Provost, Academic will be responsible for advancing strategic academic initiatives that support outstanding academic experiences for our students. The Vice-Provost, Academic will oversee the Centre for Teaching and Learning with a focus on teaching and learning initiatives and innovative uses of technology to support high quality programming. The Vice-Provost will also champion a culture of continuous improvement through Sheridan’s Institutional Quality Assurance and new program development processes. They will provide support for cross-institutional initiatives such as articulation and partnership agreements, and will actively engage in opportunities to participate in research directly related to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. The Vice-Provost, Academic will continue to chair the Academic Appeals Committee and the Academic Program Proposal Review Committee (APPRC) as well as participate as a member on the Academic Resources Committee (ARC) and the Program Quality Assurance Committee (PQAC). The Manager of Academic Initiatives will continue to report to the Vice-Provost, Academic.
While recruiting for the Vice-Provost, Academic, Dr. Yael Katz (Dean, FHASS) has kindly agreed to chair the Academic Appeals Committee and Academic Program Proposal Review Committee (APPRC) and be the Deans’ representative on the Program Quality Assurance Committee (PQAC). If/as necessary, she will also participate on the Academic Resources Committee (ARC) in the absence of the Vice-Provost.
Our new President, Dr. Janet Morrison and I are also pleased to share that Sandy McKean (Interim Dean, PSB), Ronni Rosenberg (Dean, FAAD) and Dr. Michael O’Leary (Dean, FAHCS) have agreed to take on the role of Campus Principal at the Hazel McCallion, Trafalgar and Davis campuses respectively. Dave Wackerlin (Interim Vice-Dean, FAST) will continue in his capacity as Campus Principal, specifically focused on the Skilled Trades Centre at the Davis Campus.
Broadly defined, the Campus Principal has a lead role for matters that have campus-wide impact such as events, installations, service gaps and/or the identification of issues of immediate concern in the absence of the Dean or Director of an area on their campus. They will raise awareness of risks and opportunities, provide oversight with respect to the initiatives and actions implemented at a campus level and ensure adherence to and alignment with College-wide strategies and policies such as space planning, facilitates oversight, strategic enrolment management and external relations. During the upcoming academic year, Sandy, Ronni, Michael and I will work together to further refine and implement the Campus Principal role.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Again, I am thrilled to be taking on this new role and will look forward to working with all of you to advance Sheridan’s Academic Plan and related priorities.
Kind regards,
Melanie