Today I’m able to share that Dr. Lois Harder, Principal of our Peter Lougheed Leadership College and Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Arts has been appointed Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Victoria. Lois’ final day with the U of A will be June 30, 2021.
Lois has been an important participant in institutional conversations about the role of leadership development in our university, and I have been grateful for her thoughtful contributions to those discussions. I would like to thank Lois for her tremendous contributions to the University of Alberta, most recently in her role with the Peter Lougheed Leadership College (PLLC).
Under her leadership, the PLLC continues to provide enriching and innovative leadership opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students, and members of the community. During her term as Principal, Lois has expanded access to the PLLC’s certificate program as well as to courses for all undergraduate students. She has increased community engagement and collaborations within and beyond the university, enhancing the reputation of the PLLC. Doing so has allowed our PLLC scholars to have important impacts in the community by pursuing opportunities that were made possible because of Lois’ guidance and support. She has built and leads a high performing team of staff in the college.
I wish her all the best in her new opportunity at the University of Victoria.
The landscape of restructuring at the University of Alberta and leadership transition in the PLLC gives us an opportunity to re-envision PLLC’s activities in the context of the new college model. To that end, we will shortly be appointing an interim principal to engage in discussions on the next steps for PLLC.