HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-10-22, Page 27THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2015. PAGE 27.
East Wawanosh native Wayne
Caldwell will be in charge of the
Ontario Agricultural College (OAC)
after being named the interim dean
of the prestigious institution, one of
the founding colleges of the
University of Guelph.
The announcement was made
three weeks ago and Caldwell will
assume the mantle on Nov. 1.
The outgoing dean of the college,
Rob Gordon, is leaving his position
to become the Vice-President
(Research) at Wilfrid Laurier
University in Waterloo.
“This is an interim position, while
a new dean is sought,” Caldwell
said. “It will likely last for a year or
so.”
The position is of the utmost
importance for the college.
“The dean for the OAC has the
ultimate responsibility for the
overall management of the college,
including academic and financial
issues,” Caldwell said. “I will deal
with the flow of students across the
college and my day-to-day work will
be dealing with those issues,
working with faculty and working
with students.”
The college has six departments
with which Caldwell will be
working: the Department of Animal
Biosciences, the Department of
Food, Agricultural and Resource
Economics, the Department of Food
Science, the Department of Plant
Agriculture, the School of
Environmental Design and Rural
Development (of which Caldwell is
the director) and the School of
Environmental Sciences. These
departments are located across the
school’s three campuses in Guelph,
Kemptville and Ridgetown.
Caldwell’s office will be in Guelph.
The opportunity is an exciting one
for Caldwell who said that, while the
University of Guelph is wonderful,
the OAC is world-renowned.
“The OAC has a world-wide
reputation built on the back of
people advancing agricultural
science,” he said. “It is the number
one rated agriculture school in
Canada and among the top 10
around the world. The research that
is generated through the university
and its partnerships with [the
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture,
Food and Rural Affairs] and external
funding for the faculty is amazing. It
is, quite frankly, a world-wide leader
for research that goes into the
agricultural industry.”
Caldwell said that the number of
patents created through the OAC is
quite remarkable.
The position will last until a
permanent replacement is found for
the position, a role that will likely
require an international search,
according to Caldwell.
According to a press release from
the school, Charlotte Yates, the
Provost and academic Vice-
President for the University of
Guelph, chose Caldwell because of
his existing experience with the
school.
“Professor Caldwell brings
valuable leadership experience to
this new role, which will be
important as the OAC enters into a
period of leadership transition,” she
said.
While excited for the interim
opportunity, Caldwell said he has no
interest in pursuing the permanent
position which is part of why he was
chosen to be the temporary
replacement.
“I have certainly never aspired to
the position of dean,” he said. “The
question there is what pulls people to
work at a university. For me, I want
to work with students and research
and this is an administrative
position. I have never had
aspirations for that career direction
per se.
“Having said that, the provost said
she only wanted someone who
wouldn’t apply for the position,” he
explained. “The basis for that is to
make sure the search for a
replacement is an open and
transparent search and there would
be no candidate with any advantage.
I have candidly said I would not
apply.”
After a permanent replacement is
found, Caldwell said he would go
back to directing the School of
Environmental Design and Rural
Development.
During his time as dean, Caldwell
said minor changes may be
necessary to make sure that the
school holds the course set by its
administration and former dean but
there will be no significant changes.
“There are systems and situations
that will require a change in
management, however, for my part, I
will only deal with the things that
need to be dealt with,” he said.
“There aren’t stagnant situations at
the school, everything is always
changing. However, there will be no
significant alteration in the course or
direction. That is for the incoming
dean to decide.”
Caldwell did say, however, that
sometimes interim positions can be
longer than anticipated and that will
affect how much is changed.
“Over the estimated year, I want to
maintain the stability of the school
and maintain the good direction of
the outgoing dean,” he said.
Caldwell will have some help with
that, saying that the three associate
deans are well-informed and well-
educated individuals who have a
great handle on their roles and
responsibilities.
Taking advantage of this
opportunity is a natural progression
of some of his work according to
Caldwell.
“In some ways, my career has
been dedicated to public service,” he
said. “If I think of institutions in
Canada that are front and centre in
the agriculture industry, research
and teaching, there is no
other institute with the profile or
history or traditions. It is a real
honour to serve this institution in
this capacity.”
North Huron native Caldwell named OAC interim dean
A big responsibility
East Wawanosh native Wayne Caldwell was recently
named the interim dean of the Ontario Agriculture College,
a school at the University of Guelph. Caldwell assumes the
position Nov. 1. While the posting is an honour for Caldwell,
he said that part of why he was chosen was because he
has no interest in becoming dean permanently. The position
is heavily involved in the administration of the college and
he prefers teaching and researching. (File photo)
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