U of A Faculty of Law is proud to announce that Ph.D. Candidate Clayton Bangsund has been awarded a Vanier Scholarship 2013
Ph.D. candidate Clayton Bangsund (LL.M., Columbia, 2012; J.D., Alberta, 2005) has been awarded the plum of Canadian graduate student awards, a prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.
Bangsund is one of 165 doctoral students in Canada and to receive a Vanier, which is in its fifth year. The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship program aims to attract and retain world-class doctoral students by supporting those who demonstrate both leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies. Recipients of the Vanier receive $50,000 per year from the Government of Canada for three years to fund their doctoral studies.
Bangsund's doctoral research project, entitled Deposit Accounts: The Concept of Perfection by Control, focuses on Canadian personal property security statutory reform. On a practical level, Bangsund is interested in answering the question of whether and to what extent (if at all) Canadian common law jurisdictions ought to amend the Personal Property Security Act (PPSA) in a manner that permits or mandates a security interest in a deposit account (i.e. bank account) to be perfected by control (as opposed to registration, or as an alternative or supplement thereto). The work, says Bangsund, is not only deeply fascinating and rewarding, but current and important. "Canadian common law provinces and territories appear headed toward the adoption of a control paradigm. This paradigm shift will have an impact on various segments of the secured credit marketplace. Our legislators should carefully consider the probable effects of this paradigm shift, on all affected commercial marketplace participants, to ensure that statutory reform (whatever precise form it may take) is implemented on sound policy grounds. In this spirit, I am subjecting the concept of control, as a paradigm for perfection and priority ordering in respect of deposit accounts, to a critical examination having regard for the PPSA's foundational objectives and philosophical underpinnings."
"I am deeply honoured to have been selected as a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar," says Bangsund. "Pursuing graduate studies causes one considerable financial stress; the support I have received from SSHRC has alleviated that stress, and enabled me to focus on my research rather than my personal finances. I am very grateful for the support."
Professor Steven Penney, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, adds that the award of a Vanier to Bangsund reflects upon the quality of the student body which the Faculty has attracted to its Ph.D. program. "Clayton is going to be a significant force in an important field of legal scholarship", he said.
What does the future hold for Bangsund? "My future lies in my native Province of Saskatchewan. In 2014, I will take up a tenure track appointment at the University of Saskatchewan, College of Law. I look forward to returning home to continue my research and embrace my new role as law professor."
"I have received tremendous guidance and support from many people, but in particular I would like to thank Professors Roderick J. Wood (Alberta), Ronald J. Mann (Columbia) and Ronald C.C. Cuming (Saskatchewan), the Honourable Mister Justice Russell S. Brown, and Donald H. Layh, Q.C., each of whom played a key role in the success of my Vanier application. I would not have received this coveted award without their considerable efforts."
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholars are each chosen as a result of their demonstrated leadership skills and high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering and health research.