I am delighted to announce that effective September 1, 2013, Dr. William Holmes, presently Dean of Business and interim Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science and Technology, will assume the role of Vice Provost at Sheridan. After a rigorous search process in the early summer, the search committee recommended Bill as the ideal candidate, and I am very pleased to confirm that Bill has accepted our offer.
Bill came to Sheridan in 2010 when he became Dean, Faculty of Business. Prior to relocating to Ontario, Bill served as Adjunct Professor and Executive Director of the Undergraduate Program in the Faculty of Business Administration at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, and as the Instructional Manager (Dean) of Business for a network of colleges in the United Arab Emirates. Bill’s career has spanned the corporate and educational sector and has included assignments in Europe and Asia as well as the Middle East.
Bill holds a Doctor of Business Administration from the University of Southern Queensland, an MBA from the University of British Columbia, an MA in Philosophy (Ethics) from the University of Waterloo and undergraduate degrees in Economics and Philosophy, also from the University of Waterloo. He holds the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP) designations and serves on Sheridan’s Board of Governors as well as on the Board of Directors for the NAFSA Association of International Educators. Bill has taught at the Copenhagen Business School, Simon Fraser University, the University of Northern British Columbia and the Higher Colleges of Technology.
As Bill moves into his new portfolio, he leaves a couple of openings in our academic leadership team. First, as we continue the search for the new Dean for FAST, Neil Robb will continue in his capacity as Acting Dean of Engineering and will also extend his leadership to the School of Information Technology. I am incredibly grateful to Neil for his commitment to Sheridan and his honorable and steadfast leadership as Acting Dean of FAST. Interviews for the incumbent dean of FAST are scheduled for September and I am very optimistic that we will be able to recruit a strong and influential leader for this important portfolio.
The second vacancy is the Dean’s position for the Faculty of Business. I am very pleased to advise that Sylvia Lowndes, formerly Dean of the Faculty of Continuing and Professional Studies, has accepted a reassignment to become the Dean of the Faculty of Business.
As Dean of the Faculty of Continuing and Professional Studies (FCAPS), Sylvia has provided strategic leadership for programming for mature learners, organizations and individuals presently in the workforce. With over 400 faculty and 60 support staff, she has been the senior academic administrator responsible for curriculum design, delivery and programming support to more than 33,000 part-time students in the Faculty. In the SheridanCorporate portfolio, she has developed learning partnerships, programming and advisory services which serve the strategic training, learning and development requirements of hundreds of organizations locally and nationally.
Sylvia represents Sheridan on the City of Mississauga’s Economic Development Council. She is also an active member of several associations including the Canadian Society for Training and Development (CSTD), the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), and the Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario (HRPAO). Over the course of 18 years prior to joining Sheridan in 2005, Sylvia held progressively senior leadership positions at the Royal Bank Financial Group and the National Bank of Canada in Quebec and Ontario, which included national and international mandates in learning and development as well as business development. Sylvia has a broad range of experience in marketing and communications, mergers and acquisitions, regional and national sales leadership, corporate strategy and planning, and project management.
Sylvia holds an MBA in Finance from Dalhousie University, a BA in Urban Planning from McGill University, as well as several financial services designations, including Personal Financial Planner (PFP), Financial Planner (F.Pl.) through the Institut québécois de planification financière (IQPF), and the Canadian Securities Course (CSC). Sylvia has traveled extensively and is fluent in French and German in addition to English. I am confident that Sylvia will bring significant value to the Faculty of Business as we move forward with new degree programs and campus expansion plans in Mississauga.
As a final piece of the puzzle, I am very pleased to announce that Dr. Has Malik has accepted my invitation to assume the leadership responsibilities as the Dean of the Faculty of Continuing and Professional Studies in addition to his present portfolio as Dean of Humanities and Social Studies.
Having served as a professor and then Associate Dean for Liberal Studies, Education and Health Sciences, Has brings ten years of academic experience at Sheridan to his new role. He has also previously served as Acting Dean for the School of Community and Liberal Studies and as Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Access. Has holds a Masters and PhD in English Literature from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. I have every confidence in his ability to expertly manage his expanded portfolio and I look forward to working with him in the coming months as we renew the academic leadership team.
As we build for our future, I know that Bill, Sylvia, and Has will make significant contributions as part of the academic leadership team with their finely honed leadership skills and ongoing commitment to Sheridan. I am also most grateful to Neil Robb for his continuing commitment to Sheridan while we continue our search for the new dean for FAST.
I have attached an updated organizational chart to reflect the changes communicated herein. Please join me in congratulating each of these individuals as they assume their new roles and responsibilities at Sheridan. I look forward to this new academic year at Sheridan and am very optimistic about our future.