Biography of Jamie Cassels, QC
Jamie Cassels, QC, is the president of the University of Victoria. His five-year term began July 1, 2013.
An experienced academic leader
President Cassels was UVic's vice-president academic and provost (VPAC) from 2001-10. He received 95 per cent approval in a faculty ratification ballot for his second term.
As VPAC, Prof. Cassels was responsible for the quality and development of all academic programs, long-range academic planning, enrolment management and the student experience, integrated planning across the university, and the recruitment and retention of faculty. More than 50 per cent of UVic’s current faculty members were hired during his term.
Awards and expertise
President Cassels is a recipient of the 3M National Teaching Fellowship—Canada's highest award for university teaching. He is also a two-time winner of UVic Law's master teacher award; recipient of the UVic Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award; and winner of the Canadian Association of Law Teachers Award for his exceptional contributions to research and law teaching.
In June 2013, Prof. Cassels received the First Year Teaching Award of excellence from the UVic Law Students' Society for his teaching in 2012-13. The award is determined by a vote of first year law students.
Prof. Cassels' areas of research expertise include remedies, legal theory, contracts, and torts. Other interests include environmental issues, law and society in India, and race and gender issues in the law of tort.
Among Prof. Cassels' publications are: The Uncertain Promise of Law: Lessons from Bhopal (1993) about the environmental and human cost of the devastating 1984 explosion at a Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, and its aftermath; and Remedies: The Law of Damages (2000; second edition with Elizabeth Adjin-Tettey, 2008). These works and his numerous academic articles are widely cited in both the academic literature and courts across the country.
An advocate of research-enriched learning
While VPAC, Prof. Cassels was a strong advocate of research-enriched learning. He supported faculties and departments in ensuring that all students were exposed to the research culture of the university and oversaw a major expansion of research-focused graduate programs.
Prof. Cassels established a research awards program for UVic students that provides support for exceptional third- and fourth-year undergraduate students to obtain direct research experience. In 2010, in recognition of his commitment to the integration of teaching and research, UVic named this program the Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards. In 2012-13 it supported nearly 100 students.
A rich history at UVic
Prof. Cassels joined the University of Victoria Faculty of Law in 1981. He served as associate dean and dean of the law school. While he was dean, UVic Law was ranked as one of Canada’s best by recent law graduates.
As dean, Prof. Cassels launched the ground-breaking Akitsiraq Law Program delivering legal education to Inuit students in Canada’s far north and incorporating both western and Inuit legal concepts and traditions. As VPAC, he was a champion for Indigenous education and the development of new programs that led to a dramatic increase in the number of First Nations students attending and graduating from UVic.
A career marked by service
President Cassels is a member of the Bar of British Columbia and has practised law and acted as a consultant to governments at all levels on issues of public significance.
He was a founding member of the BC Law Institute, and has been active in many professional and community organizations including the Continuing Legal Education Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, and the United Way. Prof. Cassels was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2004 for his scholarly and service contributions to the legal profession.
He holds a BA in law and philosophy from Carleton University, an LL.B (bachelor of law) from the University of Western Ontario and an LL.M (master of law) from Columbia University.
He is married to Erin Shaw, a lawyer specializing in access to justice and law reform. They have three children aged 21, 18 and 14. Cassels is an avid outdoorsman and boater.