Rhonda Lenton, vice-president academic and provost, has issued the following announcement to the York University community:
I am pleased to inform members of the Lassonde community that Professor Richard Hornsey has agreed to take on the role of Interim Dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering. President Shoukri and I have brought this recommendation for Board approval; and the Board of Governors Executive Committee, on behalf of the Board of Governors, has now approved the recommendation of this appointment. Professor Hornsey’s appointment took effect March 21, 2017. Information will be forthcoming through Faculty Council regarding the search for the next Dean of the School.
Professor Hornsey is well known to members of Lassonde and the wider York community. He is a Professor of Computer Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, having joined York University in 2001 from the University of Waterloo as one of the first Engineering faculty members. He was appointed Associate Dean for Engineering in 2005 to lead the restructuring that resulted in the first accreditation of the engineering programs.
In 2011-12, Professor Hornsey was one of a small team developing the Lassonde School of Engineering. Since then, as Vice-Dean of Lassonde, he has led the Faculty’s governance and quality assurance processes and the establishment of the School’s co-op option and initiated significant curricular enhancements. He was also a member of the core project team that designed the new home of Engineering on campus, the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence.
Professor Hornsey earned his MA, MSc and DPhil degrees in Engineering Science from Oxford University in England, and is a licensed Professional Engineer. His research interests include engineering education and electronic camera systems. In 2015, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, and was named a University Professor here at York. Professor Hornsey has served on several government and professional bodies, and since 2005 has represented York University on the Council of Ontario Deans of Engineering (CODE) and the National Council of Deans of Engineering and Applied Science (NCDEAS).
I very much appreciate Dr. Hornsey’s willingness to undertake this important responsibility. I know that he will provide outstanding leadership for the School as its Interim Dean, and I look forward to working with him and colleagues in LSE to continue advancing Engineering at York.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Janusz Kozinski for his leadership as the Founding Dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering, and to wish him well for the future. His accomplishments include the launch and growth of Lassonde, the development of new programming in areas such as Civil and Mechanical Engineering and initiatives such as the Bergeron Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (BEST) program, and the planning for and opening of the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence.