U of S Board of Governors appoints Karen Chad to second term as VP research
University of Saskatchewan Vice-President Research Karen Chad will serve a second five-year term in the senior leadership position effective January 1st, 2015.
By Jennifer Thoma
The Board of Governors approved the reappointment on the recommendation of a 14-person review committee comprising faculty, staff and students, and a board member. The committee solicited feedback from a wide range of members of the campus community and external stakeholders.
"I am delighted to be working with Karen Chad whose collaborative style has fostered a shared research vision focused on our signature areas and a new sense of pride as we take our place among Canada's top research-intensive universities," said Interim President Gordon Barnhart.
"I have every confidence that in her second term she will continue to ensure that communities, industries, governments, and the general public look to us to be key partners in helping provide a better future for Saskatchewan and Canada through innovative research."
The Vice-President Research provides overall leadership in developing and promoting the university's research, scholarly and artistic work activities and increasing research intensiveness and performance.
Under Chad's leadership, major new research centres were created through external investment, including the Global Institute for Water Security, the Global Institute for Food Security, the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation, the International Minerals Innovation Institute (IMII), and the new cyclotron and associated laboratory facility for research and production of medical isotopes.
Chad co-led development of the Canadian Wheat Alliance and fostered major partnerships to advance health research and mining research and training, including the $1-million-plus Mitacs Minerals Executive-in-Residence Program in partnership with Mitacs and IMII.
"Working with our partners, we recognize that we can help solve some of the world's most challenging problems, and are well positioned through our six signature areas of research strength to make a difference both regionally and globally," said Chad. "We have a strong talent base and are attracting and retaining outstanding faculty and students."
She stressed that teams tackling multi-dimensional problems must be multi-disciplinary, spanning the spectrum from humanities and social sciences, to health and science disciplines, to policy research.
Under Chad's leadership, services and supports were put in place to advance researcher success. These included a highly effective internal review program to improve grant success, a first-in-Canada research mentorship program to ensure new faculty get off to an effective start, and the creation of joint research facilitator positions in colleges.
Other initiatives providing support to researchers include the Social Sciences Research Laboratory, the Geographic Information System web mapping services, and the Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research which offers clinical trials and support to faculty and students.
Goals of her second term include continuing to improve services to researchers, expanding research opportunities for undergraduates, and working with the research community on goals for enhanced research success by 2020.
Chad is also a faculty member in the College of Kinesiology where she continues to mentor graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. She was named one of Canada's 2013 Top 100 Women in the WXN Awards which recognize the highest-achieving female leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors in Canada.
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For more information, contact:
Jennifer Thoma
Media Relations Specialist
University of Saskatchewan
306-966-1851
jennifer.thoma@usask.ca
"I am delighted to be working with Karen Chad whose collaborative style has fostered a shared research vision focused on our signature areas and a new sense of pride as we take our place among Canada's top research-intensive universities," said Interim President Gordon Barnhart.
"I have every confidence that in her second term she will continue to ensure that communities, industries, governments, and the general public look to us to be key partners in helping provide a better future for Saskatchewan and Canada through innovative research."
The Vice-President Research provides overall leadership in developing and promoting the university's research, scholarly and artistic work activities and increasing research intensiveness and performance.
Under Chad's leadership, major new research centres were created through external investment, including the Global Institute for Water Security, the Global Institute for Food Security, the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation, the International Minerals Innovation Institute (IMII), and the new cyclotron and associated laboratory facility for research and production of medical isotopes.
Chad co-led development of the Canadian Wheat Alliance and fostered major partnerships to advance health research and mining research and training, including the $1-million-plus Mitacs Minerals Executive-in-Residence Program in partnership with Mitacs and IMII.
"Working with our partners, we recognize that we can help solve some of the world's most challenging problems, and are well positioned through our six signature areas of research strength to make a difference both regionally and globally," said Chad. "We have a strong talent base and are attracting and retaining outstanding faculty and students."
She stressed that teams tackling multi-dimensional problems must be multi-disciplinary, spanning the spectrum from humanities and social sciences, to health and science disciplines, to policy research.
Under Chad's leadership, services and supports were put in place to advance researcher success. These included a highly effective internal review program to improve grant success, a first-in-Canada research mentorship program to ensure new faculty get off to an effective start, and the creation of joint research facilitator positions in colleges.
Other initiatives providing support to researchers include the Social Sciences Research Laboratory, the Geographic Information System web mapping services, and the Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research which offers clinical trials and support to faculty and students.
Goals of her second term include continuing to improve services to researchers, expanding research opportunities for undergraduates, and working with the research community on goals for enhanced research success by 2020.
Chad is also a faculty member in the College of Kinesiology where she continues to mentor graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. She was named one of Canada's 2013 Top 100 Women in the WXN Awards which recognize the highest-achieving female leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors in Canada.
-30-
For more information, contact:
Jennifer Thoma
Media Relations Specialist
University of Saskatchewan
306-966-1851
jennifer.thoma@usask.ca