WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg has named the distinguished researcher and scientist Dr. Rodney S. Hanley as Dean of the Faculty of Science at The University of Winnipeg, effective August 1, 2008.
Hanley currently serves as the Department Chair and Associate Professor of Earth System Science and Policy at the University of North Dakota (UND). He conceptualized and helped found the Earth System Science and Policy program, an advanced multidisciplinary approach that unites the humanities and applied sciences. Hanley’s focus on policy and the science of environmental sustainability mirrors the goals of UWinnipeg’s new Richardson College for the Environment.
“Dr. Hanley’s interests, experience and skills are a perfect fit with the goals of UWinnipeg to provide students with a comprehensive science education, equipping them to tackle the important sustainability issues we face collectively,” said Lloyd Axworthy, UWinnipeg President & Vice-Chancellor. “His visionary leadership will assist us in developing a graduate program for our Faculty of Science and his ideas will help shape the Richardson College for the Environment.”
Hanley is also a senior researcher in the Northern Great Plains Center for People and the Environment at UND. The Center is a national leader in providing societal benefits from Earth observations to a wide variety of stakeholders in agricultural, natural resource management and various educational communities.
“Dr. Hanley brings a record of accomplishment,” said Brian Stevenson, Vice-President (Academic), UWinnipeg. “His expertise in working within a multidisciplinary program, his high-level research and stellar instruction are ideal qualities in leading our Faculty of Science.”
“I am very excited to be coming to one of Canada’s leading post-secondary institutions and working in a dynamic, creative environment,” said Hanley, “I am especially excited about the new Science Complex at the University of Winnipeg, which I believe will help position the school at the forefront of science education throughout Canada and North America.”
Hanley has been at UND since 2001 and is the recipient of numerous teaching and research awards. He began his academic career studying insect diversity and evolution, then became interested in issues associated with environmental sustainability. Most recently, he has examined the impacts of climate change on insect pollinators and what impacts those changes will have on grassland systems in North America. Hanley has more than 90 peer-reviewed publications and professional presentations and has advised numerous graduate students.
Hanley is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University (B.S., 1991, and M.S., 1993, degrees Environmental Science) and received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 2001).
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Shawn Coates, Director of Communications & Marketing, University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7126, C: 204.230.0202, E: s.coates@uwinnipeg.ca
