I am pleased to announce that Dr. Simaan AbouRizk has agreed to extend his appointment as Interim Dean of the Faculty of Engineering for an additional year. This extension will ensure ongoing stability and momentum in the Faculty in the coming year and his term will now end on June 30, 2024.
Since taking on the role of Interim Dean, Simaan has provided strong and stable leadership in the Faculty of Engineering through the last two years, including through significant academic and administrative restructuring, and in managing ongoing impacts of the pandemic on the university. Through careful planning, Simaan and his strong leadership team have implemented a new faculty structure that both preserves the unique and successful aspects of student experience, research impact and application, and the engineering community while aligning with the One University model. Simaan has been a strong advocate of initiatives that support both the Indigenous Strategic Plan and equity, diversity and inclusion in the Faculty and across the institution. He has been intentional in moving forward bold new initiatives to support faculty excellence including the U of A Engineering Research Chairs program, and has overseen the recruitment of exceptional early career researchers across multiple departments. Simaan has been a valued member of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CNAS) Council of Deans and has worked with CNAS and across the institution to advance student success initiatives that include supporting the teaching and learning environment, curricular and pedagogical innovation, and thoughtful enrolment planning.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Simaan for his willingness to continue in this very important role. I look forward to continuing to benefit from his wise advice and collaborative approach.
A selection process for the Dean of Engineering will be launched in the 2023-2024 academic year, in accordance with the Faculty Dean Selection Procedure in UAPPOL.
Dr. Verna Yiu
Interim Provost and Vice-president (Academic)