New deans and acting deans announced

Four new academic leaders take up their posts at UVic this summer with the appointments of Dr. Patricia Marck as dean of human and social development, Dr. Susan Lewis as acting dean of fine arts, Dr. Cedric Littlewood as new acting dean of humanities and Dr. Kathryn Gillis as acting dean of science.

Marck will serve as dean of the Faculty of Human and Social Development for a term effective July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2020. Marck is a specialist in the study of safety and quality issues across health systems and uses knowledge and methods from the field of ecological restoration as a key component of her work. She works collaboratively with students and colleagues across Canada and internationally (particularly in Brazil) to build adaptive health management approaches and sustainable health systems. Marck has deep experience working in distance education, and expertise in ethics including collaboration on projects that integrate ethics into interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate curricula. Marck has worked with Indigenous communities in BC and Alberta and has worked within her faculty to establish de-colonized curricula. Marck has previously served as a consultant for the Alberta Association of Registered Nurses; an associate professor in nursing at the University of Alberta; associate dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Development at UBC–Okanagan; and as professor and director of the School of Nursing at UBC–Okanagan.

Lewis has been appointed as acting dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts beginning July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. She currently serves as director of the School of Music and was the school’s acting director in 2010 and 2012. Lewis joined the school as an assistant professor in 2001 and was promoted to associate professor in 2008. Lewis is well-placed to take on the role of acting dean while a search is conducted for the next dean of the faculty.  

Littlewood will serve as acting dean for the Faculty of Humanities for the period of July 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015 while the Appointment and Reappointment Committee conducts its search for a new dean. Littlewood is an associate professor in Greek and Roman Studies, and has considerable administrative experience, having represented the faculty on Senate (2009-12) and chaired the Senate Committee on Learning and Teaching (2011-12). More recently, he acted as associate dean of humanities for six months in 2014, and over the past year served on three of the sub-committees (Internationalization, Learning Outcomes and Research) that contributed to the current Faculty of Humanities Strategic Plan. He has served on the Faculty of Humanities Advisory Committee, the Curriculum Committee and the Internal Research Grant Committee. 

Gillis has been ratified and appointed as acting dean of the Faculty of Science beginning July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. Gillis currently serves as associate dean of the faculty. She joined the university in 1994 as an assistant professor and has served as associate director of CEOR (2001-2004) and director of SEOS (2004-2011). Dr. Rob Lipson, who was reappointed earlier this year for a further term as dean of science, is on administrative leave from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.