Dr. David Taras, AGF Director

David Taras is University Professor and Professor in the Faculty of Communications & Culture at the University of Calgary. He has been the Director of the Alberta Global Forum since 2006. Dr. Taras received a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto where he began his career as an Assistant Professor. He also served as an Assistant Director of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs and he is a graduate of the Legislative Internship Program at Queen's Park. He is the author of The Newsmakers: The Media's Influence on Canadian Politics, Power and Betrayal in the Canadian Media and co-author of The Last Word: Media Coverage of the Supreme Court of Canada. His latest book, Shake-up: Media, Culture and Identity in Canada, will be published in 2009. In addition, David Taras has edited or co-edited over a dozen books including the first two volumes in the How Canadians Communicate series, four editions of A Passion for Identity: Introduction to Canadian Studies and most recently Making a Difference: The Internet and Elections in Comparative Perspective.

Dr. Taras served as an expert advisor to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage during its two-year study of Canadian broadcasting policy and as an advisor on national unity and the constitution to Alberta Premier Ralph Klein. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and served between 1995 and 2000 as Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Communication & Culture. Dr. Taras is a five-time winner of the Student's Union Award for Teaching Excellence and was awarded the Order of Alberta in 2006.

A frequent media commentator on Alberta and Canadian politics, he can be seen on Global Calgary TV's Morning News where he is the resident political pundit.