Lisa Philipps, vice-president academic and provost, issues the following announcement to the York University community:
I am writing to inform members of the York University community that Vice-Provost Academic Alice Pitt has informed me of her intention to step down from the position of VPA as of June 30, 2020.
Professor Pitt has provided outstanding leadership as VPA for the past six years, playing a key role in advancing institutional objectives around measuring and enhancing program quality and coherence, developing innovative new programs to address student demand, supporting student access and success, community outreach, planning for York’s presence in Markham, complement planning, faculty relations, and promotion of diversity and inclusivity on our campuses, including her role in facilitating development and implementation of the University’s Indigenous Framework. I have also particularly appreciated her support and wise counsel on a wide range of issues. I look forward to opportunities over the coming year to more fully recognize and celebrate her contributions to York.
I am delighted to announce that Professor Lyndon Martin will join the Provost’s Office as vice-provost academic on July 1, 2020. As members of the community will be aware, Professor Martin has served since 2016 as dean of the Faculty of Education, providing exemplary leadership of the Faculty during a period of strong growth and development in its teaching and research. Among many notable achievements under his deanship are: the articulation of a new strategic plan for the Faculty; a number of new program initiatives, including the development and launch of the Waaban Indigenous Teacher Education program in collaboration with the TDSB Indigenous Education Centre and the BA in Educational Studies (including the offering of this program to a cohort of students in the Dadaab refugee camp); the relaunch of the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community & Diaspora; and steps to increase research intensity and success in the Faculty with the recruitment of new faculty colleagues and support for grant applications.
Professor Martin has been a member of the York community since 2009. He holds a BSc and a Certificate of Education from Loughborough University in England and a DPhil from the Department of Educational Studies at Oxford University. His research is in the field of mathematics education, with a focus on improving the teaching and learning of mathematics at all levels. I am very grateful to Professor Martin for agreeing to take on this important portfolio, and I look forward to welcoming him to the Provost’s Office team.
We will be initiating a search for the next dean of the Faculty of Education in the near future.