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The Peter and Doris Kule Chair in Catholic Religious Education
EDMONTON - October 6, 2026
The Peter and Doris Kule Chair in Catholic Religious Education is an integral part of St. Joseph’s College and our mission in Catholic education. This mission is realized through our Certificate in Catholic Education, our option courses for students and teachers looking for a deeper understanding of religious education and how to teach in a Catholic school environment, and a number of scholarships offered to Faculty of Education undergraduates at the University of Alberta.
The SJC Kule Chair also provides resources and funding to help make possible a variety of research projects, publications, public lectures, and other efforts in support of Catholic religious education.
“Catholic education has been an important focus of SJC for decades. The Kule Chair allows us to sharpen that focus, to determine how we can better support teachers and students, and to ensure fidelity to the mission of Catholic education and to the faith professed,” said current chair Dr. Matt Hoven.
The Kule Chair at SJC was installed through a generous gift from Drs. Peter and Doris Kule in 2006. The Kules were involved in various philanthropic and charitable efforts in the Edmonton area, having established endowments through the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton, the University of Alberta, and at other post-secondary institutions. The Kules were dedicated to their Ukrainian heritage, their Catholic faith, and to education, as Doris Kule taught at schools in the Edmonton area for over 30 years. SJC’s Kule Chair, filled by a scholar in Catholic education, reflects Peter and Doris’s hope to see Catholic education continue and thrive in Alberta and beyond.
Dr. Richard Rymarz, an internationally renowned scholar of Catholic education from Australia, was selected as the first holder of the Kule Chair in Catholic Religious Education in 2006. Rymarz entered the role with a rich background in Catholic education, having overseen several research studies and the drafting of several curricula for Catholic schools.
As chair, Rymarz engaged in a number of research projects in the areas of Catholic education, catechesis, and more. For instance, he published a 2010 study about the vital role of lay religious educators within the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton.
After Rymarz’s departure from SJC, Dr. Matt Hoven was appointed to the endowed chair and his current term continues into the spring of 2028. As chair, Hoven has been involved with efforts to review and refine the education curriculum at the College, including the Certificate in Catholic Education. He has collaborated with the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Education and other institutions to promote research in religious education, including a study of Catholic School Chief Superintendents in Western Canada. Hoven also engages in continual advocacy for Catholic education with other educators, academics, and the public.
Dr. Matthew Hoven |
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In recent years, the Kule Chair has sponsored an annual public lecture by an invited academic with experience and scholarship in religious education. The lectures are open to attendance by faculty, professors, teachers, students and the wider community.
In 2024, the Kule Chair invited guest lecturer Dr. Roisin Coll of the University of Glasgow, who spoke on the faith formation of Catholic teachers to in-person and online participants. The next year the Kule Chair hosted Dr. Patricia Kieran, Associate Professor at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland, who delivered a lecture to online participants about global concerns and local responses for Catholic schools. Both lectures were co-sponsored by the Alberta Catholic Schools Trustees’ Association (ACSTA). In 2026, the Kule Chair has invited renowned UK sports psychologist Dr. Mark Nesti to speak on the role of sports as an education of the human person. The lecture on October 8, co-sponsored by SJC's Kule Chair and Newman Theological College, emphasizes how religion extends outside of the classroom and should be considered in extra-curricular learning that touches the whole human person.
Hoven plans to grow the influence of the Kule Chair in Catholic Religious Education through annual lectures, additional research in Catholic education, and continued collaboration amongst Catholic schools and post-secondary institutions, both locally and globally.
SJC Faculty Retreat Focuses on the Challenges and Opportunities of AI
August 31, 2026 - Edmonton
Shortly before the school year got underway, faculty and sessional lecturers at St. Joseph's College gathered together for the College's annual faculty retreat on August 31st. The retreat gave the 16 attendees (14 in person and 2 via Zoom) a space for community, reflection and a chance to discuss the challenges and opportunities they face as educators in a rapidly changing world.
At the center of this year’s retreat, organized by the Academic Dean’s office, was a discussion on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the role it plays in the teaching and learning of students.
The retreat’s main speaker was Dr. Nancy Bray, Associate Lecturer with the University of Alberta Faculty of Arts - English & Film Studies Department, who has previously published and presented on the topics of AI and teaching. Over the course of her presentations to the group, Dr. Bray emphasized that, in today’s world, the classroom can be the key place where students learn to make prudent judgements about the appropriate and ethical uses of AI.
This aim reflected the central concern of the retreat’s participants, who were especially interested in how the intellectual development and formation of their students can be safeguarded and protected in the age of AI. Throughout the day, the group discussed the nature of education, what it means for a student to truly learn in the classroom and beyond, and to what extent AI can be a help or a hindrance to that end.
“Our mission at SJC is to help students discern truth and build the common good. Critical thinking is necessary for discernment, and building requires diligence, creativity, and innovation. At the retreat, we discussed ways to encourage students to cultivate these God-given abilities, without inhibiting their growth with an overreliance on AI,” said Dr. Lorne Zelyck, Associate Academic Dean and Professor.
The topic of AI is especially pertinent given that it has also become a focus at the highest office of the Catholic Church, with Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which focuses on preserving the dignity of the human person in a world increasingly dominated by digital and AI-based technologies. As part of the retreat, Dr. Doris Kieser, SJC’s Acting Vice President (Academic) and Dean and Associate Professor, provided a reflection on Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical.
Dr. Kieser noted that the pope’s concern that AI’s usage always be framed within the preservation of the common good lines up precisely with the mission of St. Joseph’s College. She hopes the discussions and reflections garnered from the retreat will help educators tackle the reality of AI in a way that preserves the academic integrity of their students.
“Some of the themes that are really important in the encyclical are discernment and the common good, which are also articulated over and over again in the mission of the College - in our mission statement and in how we describe our courses. That question of discernment of the common good is very much a part of what we see ourselves doing as a College,” said Dr. Kieser.
“It’s complex. There’s no one size fits all approach to AI, because different assignments require different things and each professor is at a different level of comfort with AI and what it can and can’t do,” Dr. Kieser continued. “So that’s something we’ve taken away from this day: thinking about how we as a College can, in general, provide some guidance around the use of AI.”
Ultimately, the retreat left SJC’s faculty and sessional lecturers with a sense of hope, seeing that there are tangible ways in which AI’s usage can be properly managed and dealt with in the classroom. The retreat also demonstrated how concern for the intellectual development and formation of students is front and centre in the work of St. Joseph’s College, ensuring that all will find here a place to discern and pursue truth, and to build the common good in a truly human way.
Participants included: (Back row, left to right): Thomas Oberle, Natalie van Nieuwkuyk, Brayden Tate, Fr. Warren Schmidt, Lorne Zelyck, Paul Flaman, Denis Lamoureux, Bryan Clarke, Indre Cuplinskas, Dean Sarnecki. (Front row, left to right): Jordan Robinson, Doris Kieser, Patricia Liogier, Nancy Bray, Tracy Russell, Matthew Kostelecky.
Dr. Doris Kieser to Serve as Acting VPAD of St. Joseph's College
April 23, 2026
St. Joseph's College (SJC) is pleased to announce that current Associate Academic Dean Dr. Doris Kieser will step into the role of Acting Vice President (Academic) and Dean (VPAD) for two years, July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2028.
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Dr. Matthew Kostelecky to Serve as Acting President of St. Joseph's College
April 9, 2026
St. Joseph's College (SJC) is pleased to announce that current SJC Vice-President (Academic) and Dean (VPAD), Dr. Matthew Kostelecky, will serve as Acting President during President Flynn's sabbatical. Dr. Kostelecky has been at SJC since 2009, serving as Associate Dean, and then as VPAD since 2020.
Dr. Shawn Flynn reappointed as President of St. Joseph’s College, University of Alberta for a second five-year term
September 2, 2025
St. Joseph's College Board of Governors is pleased to announce President Shawn Flynn has been renewed for a second five-year term, 2027-2032. Flynn will complete his first five-year term on June 30, 2026, and then take a well-earned 12-month sabbatical from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, before starting his second term as SJC President.