Alberta University of the Arts is pleased to welcome three new Dean and Associate Dean academics to the university, as well as welcoming a long-term academic community member to an Associate Dean role. The University is looking forward to their experienced leadership in supporting our students and advancing the institutional strategic plan.
Dean, Academic Programs
Dr. Janis Goldie
Dr. Janis Goldie brings over ten years of experience in strategic and operational leadership as well as a proven track record of building post-secondary programs and institutional synergies from Huntington University. As Chair and Professor of Communication Studies, she has extensive experience in university academic program development and community relations. She developed and implemented applied and experiential academic pathways such as Work-Integrated-Learning and articulation/transfer agreements with academic partners. Janis’ university and community governance experience includes chairing the University Senate and Research Ethics Boards, leading internal and external institutional quality program reviews, developing campus EDI initiatives, and participating on numerous university committees and community organizations as a Director.
Janis has demonstrated passion for creating an exceptional and inclusive experience for diverse learners and team members. She was awarded the Edward J. Conroy Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching, supervised over 34 undergraduate thesis students and 5 MA graduate students, was co-director of Lougheed Teaching and Learning Centre at Huntington University and has taught over 20 unique courses in various modes of delivery
Janis’s research takes an interdisciplinary approach and applies critical communication analysis to a range of discursive mediums and sites, such as film, television, social media, and news. Books published include ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: Teaching Dystopia, Feminism, and Resistance across Disciplines and Borders (2019, Rowan and Littlefield) awarded the ‘Best Edited Collection’ by the Margaret Atwood Society in 2019; and New Perspectives on the War Film (2019, Palgrave). Her research also includes growing a research program in critical food and communication studies, focused on the communication of food allergies in the media as well as within official, medical, and citizen discourses.
Dean of Students
Dr. Pablo Ortiz- Hernández
Dr. Pablo Ortiz- Hernández brings 20 years of experience as a passionate scholar, educator, and leader in the areas of student affairs, student success and accessibility, Strategic Enrolment Management (SEM), international development, and international education. Most recently, Pablo served as Director of Student Affairs for St. Mary’s University where he led several portfolios ranging from Student Success and Accessibility, International Development, Experiential and Work Integrated Learning (EL-WIL), Extension Studies, Indigenous Initiatives, Mental Health, as well as the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Pablo is a poet, and his work has been published in Canada, Mexico, and Spain.
Pablo holds a PhD in Latin American Literature from the University of Calgary where he was also a faculty member in the Department of French, Italian and Spanish for several years.
Associate Dean, Research, Internationalization and Graduate Studies
Dr. Rob Stone
Dr. Rob Stone most recently worked at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver whereas Assistant Dean, Critical Studies, he also holds the rank of full professor. There he has shared and taken leading roles in supporting faculty explore, formulate, and implement EDI, Indigenization and Anti-Racism policies.
Rob has significant experience in the development of research and graduate education within a framework of internationalization at other institutions including Goldsmiths College, Middlesex University and The School of the Art Institute. He has contributed to the conceptualization, design, and delivery of Masters and Doctoral curriculum in both the studio and classroom with particular expertise in initiating and supporting innovative pedagogy that combines studio practice with critical theory. He has been a long-standing member of the Research Ethics Board, Research Advisory Committee and Curriculum Planning & Review Committee where he was able to influence connecting research with curriculum and external partners.
His research work, whilst extensive, focuses on ways of reimagining forms of urban sociability. He has a strong curatorial record, has been a member of several galleries and continues to publish in different areas: most recently for the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, for the Dutch philosophy journal Krisis, and as a reviewer for the online journal ArtAgenda. He is author of Auditions: Architecture and Aurality (MIT Press, 2015) and is currently working on a further title, This Gift of Gesture.
Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies
Dr. Alex Link
Dr. Alex Link has served Alberta University of the Arts in a wide variety of capacities since joining as a faculty member in 2005, including School Chair, Faculty Association President, and as an interim principal academic officer. Most recently, he has served as the Associate Vice-President, Academic Affairs. His experience will bring much needed expertise and continuity to the new leadership team.
Alex maintains an active research practice in the study of comics and popular culture, with over a dozen scholarly articles appearing in internationally recognized journals and book publications. He is currently drafting a book chapter contribution to an edited collection on comics and horror forthcoming from the University of Wales Press in 2023. View an up-to-date list of his publications.
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