Greetings all,

Before I begin with the usual updates and announcements of the past month, I want to acknowledge the past few weeks have been difficult for students, staff and faculty across our College and University. Following the removal of the encampment from The Quad, concerns have been expressed about how those present were affected and about harm related to these events. It remains a deeply emotional period for our campus community, and I want to emphasize the importance of creating a space for ongoing safe and respectful dialogue among all of us in the College. 

I care deeply about everyone in this College, and I want to encourage anyone who is struggling to access support. There are several resources that the University has available, which can be found here. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have questions, thoughts or concerns about this related to our College. For institutional information, please refer to The Quad for ongoing updates.

In the world of the CSSH, this past month has been one of creating and renewing relationships with international partners. I had the opportunity to welcome delegations from two different Chinese universities and attend the renewal of the memorandum of understanding with the Austrian Government and the U of A. It was a full circle moment, as earlier, I had attended the Wirth Anniversary 25th Anniversary Signature Event featuring an amazing presentation by Anne Applebaum.

On May 13th we excitedly welcomed 10 participants in the inaugural Black Youth Social Innovation program. A very special thanks to Faculty of Arts Professor Jared Wesley for leading this initiative. I also had the pleasure of welcoming students as part of the I-STEAM summer program. Both programs represent wonderful partnerships between the faculties, college and the university.

I was also made aware of the launch of a new book and research by Alberta School of Business Professor Emily Block, in which she speaks to the power of business in rebuilding post-conflict and other challenging communities. To learn more about the book and Emily’s work over the years, check out this story.

To maintain some research and teaching activities, I participated in a dissertation defense in KSR, a comprehensive examination at the University of New Brunswick and will be attending the North American Society for Sport Management Conference where I have a poster presentation, a symposium and get to introduce my friend and colleague, Daniel Mason (who is a faculty member in KSR) as he accepts the Earle F. Zeigler Award, a lifetime achievement award for sport management scholars.

Lastly, I’d like to take this opportunity to say thanks to Barbara Billingsley as she will be completing her term as the dean of the Faculty of Law. Dean Billingsley was instrumental in leading the Faculty of Law through the past four years. I wish her rest and success during her administrative leave. At this time, I also want to welcome Fiona Kelly as the incoming dean of the faculty of Law. 

I look forward to hopefully seeing some of you during the different convocations that will be happening in June!

Best regards,

Marvin