FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2003

TRENT UNIVERSITY APPOINTS VICE PRESIDENT ACADEMIC

Trent University is pleased to announce to the community the appointment of Dr. Susan M. Clark to the position of Vice President Academic and Provost.

Professor Clark is an accomplished scholar and administrator who has served in several senior positions in both the university sector and the provincial government in Nova Scotia.

Her academic experiences have centred primarily at undergraduate universities where she has been responsible for wide-ranging and broad portfolios. At Mount Saint Vincent University she served as Dean of Humanities and Professional Development and as a department head. During her ten years at Brock University she served two terms as Vice President, Academic, and a year as Acting President. Currently, she serves as Executive Director of Nova Scotia’s Council on Higher Education while on a secondment from Brock University. In all of these roles, she has established positive working relationships with students, faculty, staff, alumni and the communities she has worked in.

Dr. Clark has extensive experiences in the public policy and planning dimensions of higher education. In her academic administrative roles, she has developed a strong commitment to academic excellence, led the development of several important institutes, and continuously has focused on the centrality of students to the purpose of university life.

She initiated the establishment of the Institute for the Study of Women at Mount Saint Vincent University and as Vice President, Academic, the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) at Brock University in order to strengthen research areas that were key to each university’s teaching and research objectives. The Institutes, founded on partnerships with other public and private sector organizations, have resulted in a wider exchange of policy and research ideas and created a stronger financial foundation for university research activities.

In these tasks, Dr. Clark developed and enhanced a range of support services such as the offices of research, instructional development and international programs. She has hands-on experience at Brock University in collective bargaining and has been responsible for major services including the registrar’s office, student services and the library.

As a professor of Sociology, Dr. Clark has a distinguished publishing and research record. She is a recipient of federal and provincial research grants and has published monographs, articles, submitted numerous reports to government department and agencies, and presented numerous papers at international conferences. Professor Clark will be a member of Trent University’s Department of Sociology. She completed her Ph.D in Sociology at the University of British Columbia, a M.A. in Sociology at McMaster University and a B.A. (Honours Social Sciences) at Liverpool University.

Dr. Clark’s five-year appointment begins in July 2003. Priority areas as defined in the mandate of this term for the Vice President, Academic, will include Strategic Academic Planning, Research and Development, Quality Programs, and Trent University’s academic reputation for teaching and research excellence.

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For more information contact:
Don Cumming, Senior Director, Public Affairs, (705) 748-1011, ext. 1224