Jared Wesley appointed Associate Dean, Education

The College of Social Sciences and Humanities is excited to share that Dr. Jared Wesley has been appointed the Associate Dean, Education, for a three-year term beginning July 1, 2026. 

Dr. Wesley is a professor of political science and a member of the Black Faculty Collective at the University of Alberta. He specializes in the comparative analysis of provincial politics, with a particular focus on political culture, public opinion, and public policy.

 He leads the Common Ground initiative — a long-term research project where his research team analyzes public opinion and focus groups to compare those individual attitudes to the norms and values that underpin politics in Alberta. He is also the founding director of the Café Pracademique initiative, a national event series geared toward improving the design, delivery and study of public policy. 

Dr. Wesley has co-authored the award-winning No I in Team: Party Loyalty in Canadian Politics and two practical accounts of Canadian politics: Inside Canadian Politics and The Public Servant’s Guide to Government in Canada.  

 He has also served in various academic and non-partisan public service roles throughout his career. Most recently, he served as Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) in the Faculty of Arts (2023-26). Earlier, he served as director of intergovernmental relations, senior manager of cabinet coordination, and director of learning and development with the Government of Alberta.

Dr. Wesley has extensive experience in student mentorship and training. This includes serving as founding executive director of the Black Youth for Social Innovation initiative, the Alberta Policy Internship Program, the IPAC Public Sector Graduate Internship Program, and the University of Alberta Political Science Graduate Student Mentorship Program. 

To date, he has supervised over three dozen graduate students to completion of their thesis projects, research assistantships, or internships. He has also supervised over a dozen high school students as part of the Black Youth Mentorship Program.

Dr. Wesley succeeds Dr. Helen Valiantos, who served as Interim Associate Dean from August to December 2023 before being appointed Associate Dean in January 2024. We thank Dr. Valiantos for her leadership and service to the college throughout her tenure.