Correction: In the fall 2009 issue of the Green and White we reported on the Knowledge and Infrastructure (KIP) funding received to repair roofs of several research buildings across campus and to complete renovations at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. We inaccurately reported that funding came from the federal government, when in fact it was joint funding from the federal and provincial governments and the U of S. Of the nearly $23 million dollars invested by the U of S and both levels of government, over $11 million came from the Province of Saskatchewan.
Three colleges at the University of Saskatchewan have announced new deans, and two schools have announced executive directors.
Mary Buhr
Douglas Freeman
David Hill
Robert Buckingham
Mary Buhr assumed the role of dean of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources last summer. Buhr grew up in Manitoba and earned her PhD in biology from the University of Waterloo. She spent 21 years at the University of Guelph, serving as interim dean of the Ontario Agriculture College during the last part of her tenure there. Buhr intends to continue her research on sperm physiology and its relationship to fertility and artificial insemination, with the goal of increasing reproductive productivity from the best male animals.
David Hill has taken over as dean of the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition at the U of S. Hill, a native of Vancouver, moved to Utah for graduate studies at Brigham Young University and served as an assistant dean at the University of Colorado, in Denver. Hill plans to prepare the college for its accreditation in 2011, expand the program to have more of a presence in the southern part of the province, provide more support for curriculum development and for faculty, and enhance the capacity for graduate studies.
Dr. Douglas Freeman will take over as the sixth dean of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in March, replacing the retiring Dr. Charles Rhodes. Freeman received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Minnesota and his master’s degree and PhD from the University of Idaho. He has acquired a broad range of experience as a practitioner, administrator of clinical and diagnostic services, a researcher, and an academic department head. Freeman currently serves as a member of the board for the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.
In early September Robert Buckingham began his five-year term as the first executive director of the university’s School of Public Health. Buckingham received a PhD in public health from Yale University School of Medicine. His previous position was professor at New Mexico State University. He also helped develop 81 hospices in seven countries, including the first hospice in the United States.
The School of Environment and Sustainability appointed Karsten Liber as its first executive director in October. Liber, who studied at the University of Guelph, was involved in the creation of the school in 2007 and has been acting director since it opened in July, 2008. Prior to his role in the school, Liber served as executive director of the Toxicology Centre at the U of S since 1996.
Karen Chad
Karen Chad (BSPE’80, BEd’81) has been appointed the University of Saskatchewan’s vice-president of research after serving in the position in an acting role since July, 2008.
Her mantra, discovery with impact, will influence her work as vice-president. Her goals are to foster creativity and innovation, building the U of S into one Canada’s top 10 medical-doctoral institutions. “If we are serious about serving the public, that means discovery with impact, not just discovery with output,” states Chad.
After studying at the U of S, Chad went on to get her master’s in physiology from the University of Victoria and her PhD from the University of Queensland.
Chad returned to the U of S in 1990 as an assistant professor in what was then the College of Physical Education. She is also an associate member of the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition and the School of Physical Therapy. She received a Teaching Excellence Award twice from the U of S Students’ Union and a Master Teacher Award at the 2005 fall convocation.
The College of Engineering was recently granted three-year accreditations for eight of the college’s nine programs from the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CAEB). The environmental engineering program was exempt because it is too new to have any graduating students and will be reviewed for accreditation next year.
The process involves a review of all material used to instruct students, including course information, exam papers, lab instruction sheets, project reports, and student transcripts.
The designation, which the college has received every year since the oversight process was initiated in 1965, ensures that graduates have all the necessary academic qualifications to be licensed professional engineers in Canada and in many international jurisdictions.
The College of Medicine received word that it met the standards required for medical accreditation from the Committee on the Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools and its American counterpart, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
Even though the college just received an eight year accreditation, a fact-finding visit will take place in the spring of 2011 to look at preparations the college is making to accommodate expanded enrollment. With the construction of the Academic Health Sciences facility, the college plans to increase undergraduate enrollment to 100 students.
Innovation Place, the research park on university-owned land just north of the main campus, and home to University Advancement, recently received the 2009 Outstanding Research/Science Park award from the Association of University Research Parks.
Established in both Regina and Saskatoon, Innovation Place was recognized with the international award because of the role it plays in supporting the growth of science and technology-related development in Saskatchewan. It is reported that park clients collectively contributed more than $647 million to the provincial economy in 2008 and employ more than 8,500 people.
Achievement Record
Fall marks university ranking season from publications such as the Globe and Mail and Maclean’s. Provost and Vice-President Academic Brett Fairbairn notes inherent difficulties with such rankings, such as difficulty in standardizing data and rankings that possibly exaggerate small differences.
Fairbairn also notes that “rankings matter in a variety of ways because people pay attention to them. Rankings influence the choices of students, parents, and others.
“Public trust, accountability and transparency are vital obligations of universities,” he said. Accountability goes beyond prudent management and reactiveness; it involves “holding ourselves accountable in the ways we think matter most.”
To this end, the university has developed the Achievement Record, a publicly available, objective assessment that measures progress in key areas. Born out of the second integrated plan, it reflects the kind of “working together” mandated by the plan and the effectiveness of that goal.
“No one measure is perfect, but we honour our commitment to public interest by giving the best we have,” said Faribairn.
The Achievment Record can be viewed online at www.usask.ca/achievementrecord
The College of Medicine’s Department of Community Health and Epidemiology (CH&E) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this spring. Started in 1959-60 as Social and Preventative Medicine with three part-time faculty, the department began equipping undergraduate medical students to use sound scientific principles to interpret patterns of disease and to understand health issues in the context of the family and community.
Relationships with local and regional health authorities have always been important and continue to evolve. CH&E is currently affiliated with six research units and has forged partnerships with multiple provincial and federal health service programs.
Interdisciplinary research programs have expanded over the years and now include chronic disease epidemiology, population health, children’s health, gender and health, and aboriginal health. The department’s extensive research is a major contributor to the university’s reputation for world-class research, and the Academic Health Sciences facility being constructed will allow the department to enhance its role and reputation in community health.
The department has grown significantly and now has a thriving graduate program, averaging 45 students in masters and PhD programs every year. Graduates have gone on to become leaders in public health, health policy and health services evaluation.
To mark its 50th anniversary, CH&E is planning a special event on March 26. The event will include public guest lectures, a poster fair, and a dinner and dance with current and former students, faculty and staff to honour the past and celebrate the bright and challenging future. For more information visit http://www.medicine.usask.ca/che. To share alumni information, contact Kathy Evans at Kathy.evans@usask.ca or (306) 966-7945.
Source: The Department of Community Health and Epidemiology
2010 marks the 100th anniversary for the Department of Physics and Physics Engineering in the College of Arts and Science. The department, charged with developing classes to meet the physical science needs of all colleges on campus, held its first classes in 1910-11.
During the first decade, a campus weather station was established, seismic equipment was purchased and plans were begun for the construction of the Physics Building.
Over time, the department developed much expertise in meteorology, climatology and the physics of the Aurora Borealis, leading to the establishment of the Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, and the Space Engineering Division (SED Ltd) as an off-shoot.
Interest in nuclear physics brought the plasma betatron, the purchase of the first non-commercial cobalt-60 unit for cancer treatment and the linear accelerator, which in turn led to the construction of the Canadian Light Source (CLS) in 1999. The CLS has profound impact on all science departments, engineering and medical sciences at the U of S, facilitating research that was not previously possible.
Notable members of the department include Gerhard Herzburg, winner of the Nobel Prize in 1971 for his work in molecular physics, and Harvey Skarsgaard, developer of the first plasma laboratory, which led to development of the TOKAMAK reactor, still operating in the Physics building.
For more detail on the department and its history, visit www.artsandscience.usask.ca/physics.
Celebrations for the 100 year reunion are being planned for Sept. 24 and 25, 2010.
Source: U of S Archives and College of Arts and Science, Department of Physics and Physics Engineering
Unless otherwise noted, news items are drawn from recent editions of On Campus News, the official newspaper of the University of Saskatchewan. For more past and current U of S news, see On Campus News at www.usask.ca/ocn/
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