September Message from Matina

Dear CNAS community,

With Fall Term now in full swing, I want to welcome everyone back and share a few updates on the work underway across our college. 

Tomorrow is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. I encourage our community to take time to reflect on the history and ongoing impacts of residential schools, and on the role that education and research must play in advancing reconciliation. As a college, our work gives us an opportunity to create learning environments that support understanding, respect and meaningful engagement with Indigenous perspectives and experiences. I hope we can approach this day with care and openness, recognizing that reconciliation is an ongoing responsibility that calls for continued learning and action.

Lift Centre

Speaking of action, work continues on the LIFT Centre. As this project moves forward, it is important that everyone feels well informed about what is being considered and how the work is progressing. I know we have been talking about the LIFT Centre often, and I am visiting some departments in the coming weeks to give updates on the project. I appreciate your continued engagement, questions and feedback on the LIFT Centre. These conversations are an important part of ensuring that the spaces and services we develop will support our research, teaching and broader academic community well into the future. I will continue to share information and opportunities to engage as the project progresses.

College news

You may also remember that we are making changes to graduate award administration, with this work moving to the college later this fall. Bringing these responsibilities together at the college level will help improve efficiency, while strengthening the support available to our graduate students and those who work with them. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this transition and to the ongoing work to improve our processes.

 At the end of August, we had the opportunity to welcome our new faculty members through a new faculty orientation event. It was wonderful to bring colleagues together, introduce new faces to the college and help build connections across our disciplines. We are fortunate to have such a talented group of new colleagues joining CNAS.

Thank you all for the work you do to support our students, research and one another. Our progress depends on the engagement and expertise of our community and we will continue these conversations as we enter the final stretch of 2026.

I wish everyone a successful semester. As always, if you would like to share any thoughts or ask questions, please reach out to me at deancnas@ualberta.ca.

Sincerely,

Matina Kalcounis-Rueppell
Dean and Vice-Provost, College of Natural and Applied Sciences