Lisa Young appointed director of graduate programs at School of Public Policy

Dr. Lisa Young has decided to step down as dean and vice-provost (graduate studies). I am pleased to announce that after a six-month administrative leave she will be seconded to The School of Public Policy (SPP), where she will be director of graduate programs at The School of Public Policy, effective Aug. 1, 2019.

Young is an accomplished academic, researcher, administrator and leader who has contributed tremendously to research and scholarship, as well as teaching and learning at the University of Calgary. Young is one of Canada’s leading authorities on women's participation in politics, interest groups and social movements. She received her PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto in 1996 and also holds a Master of Arts in Political Science from Carleton University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from the University of Winnipeg.

Young first came to the University of Calgary in 1997 as an assistant professor of political science and was promoted to full professor in 2009. She has since served as associate dean in the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) in 2010-11, before being appointed as interim dean in July of 2011. Young was named dean and vice-provost (graduate studies) in May of 2012 and was reappointed for a second term in December 2016.

As director of graduate programs, Young will oversee all academic programs offered by The School, including program planning and evaluation, student recruitment and admissions, fund development and student awards, establishing the course offerings and appointing instructors, managing the capstone process for MPP students, among other responsibilities. The School of Public Policy will benefit from Young’s academic accomplishments and knowledge in this space. She will be responsible for leading a curriculum review of the MPP during the 2019-20 academic year and implementing any consequent calendar/program changes. Young will also teach in The School of Public Policy, supervise capstone projects, and continue her own research.

Under Young’s leadership, the FGS has undergone significant transformation since the beginning of her tenure as dean and vice-provost (graduate studies). She has been committed to providing a high-quality graduate educational experience, and creating a more supportive and dynamic environment within the faculty for students, supervisors, and staff. The reforms she has implemented to various policies and procedures within the faculty have had a positive and substantive impact. Some of these accomplishments include working with the provost to increase funding for graduate student internships and entrepreneurship training, and enhancing professional development opportunities for graduate students through the MyGradSkills program.

Most recently, Young has worked to improve access and supports for Indigenous graduate students, as well connected with the FGS student success team to develop more focused interventions for graduate students who may be at risk for not completing their degrees, among many other notable accomplishments. Young will leave FGS on Jan. 31, 2019 and will take a six-month administrative leave prior to starting her new position at the SPP on Aug. 1, 2019.As a result of Young’s move to The School of Public Policy, I am also pleased to announce that Dr. Robin Yates has been appointed interim dean and vice-provost (graduate studies), effective Feb. 1, 2019.

In 2003, after practising as a veterinarian in Australia, Yates received a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship to pursue his PhD at Cornell University, which he completed in 2006. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in biomedical science at Cornell. He has earned a Master of Tertiary Education Management from the University of Melbourne in 2015, as well as a Bachelor of Veterinary Science and a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the University of Queensland in Australia.  

Yates is currently senior associate dean of graduate studies at UCalgary, where he leads a team focused on graduate student affairs. He joined the university as a faculty member in 2008 with a joint appointment to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Cumming School of Medicine, where he currently leads a research group in the field of immunology. Yates has also received numerous academic awards and achievements including most recently, the UCVM Award for Research Excellence from UCalgary’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

The search for a new dean and vice-provost (graduate studies) will be launched in 2019, which includes the development of an advisory search committee.

Please join me in congratulating Lisa and Robin on their new appointments at the University of Calgary. 

Dr. Dru Marshall
Provost and Vice-President (Academic)