With the start of a new academic year upon us, I’m writing to provide an organizational update in advance of upcoming retirements within the senior academic leadership team.
With several Deans and Associate Deans retiring by the end of the Fall term, we are working to ensure that the structure of our academic divisions and schools continue to support enrolment strategies and student success.
Academic and Liberal Studies Dean David Atherton’s scheduled retirement at the end of December has provided an opportunity to review the ALS Division through the lens of recent enrolment trends. On David’s retirement, ALS will amalgamate with the Centre for Academic Excellence, under the leadership of Jeff Post, who will assume the role of Dean, Interdisciplinary Studies and Teaching Excellence effective January 1, 2026. As part of this change, the Pre-Health Sciences program, which is currently within the ALS division, will move to the Health Sciences division, allowing faculty and students to form a deeper connection to our Health Sciences programming at a time when we are set to significantly expand this in-demand program area. This Fall, we will break ground on a 75,000 square-foot expansion of our Health Sciences building, increasing capacity in high demand health programs and research.
Planning also remains underway for the relocation of programs within the School of Community Services from the Welland Campus to the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake in the Fall of 2026. Recent shifts in enrolment have caused an imbalance in enrolments between our campuses, and this is being felt most in Niagara-on-the-Lake. As we considered which program areas would benefit most by a move to the Daniel J. Patterson Campus, it became clear that future students in Community Services programs would benefit from access to outdoor learning spaces and opportunities for inter-program collaboration and experiential learning.
I will provide further updates over the course of the Fall term as we work to address other pending retirements within the academic portfolio. I wish all faculty and staff a great start to the academic year and extend my thanks for all that you do to contribute to our students’ success.
Fiona
