Dr. Ailsa Craig has been appointed special advisor to the president for continuing education.

Reporting directly to Dr. Vianne Timmons, Dr. Craig will provide strategic vision, inspiration and direction to continuing education for Memorial University, ensuring goals align with the university’s strategic plan.

‘So much possibility’

“I look forward to working with units across Memorial and to collaborating with community, government, and industry,” said Dr. Craig. “It is exciting to step into this role, to have the opportunity to support and further develop continuing education at Memorial, and to work on creating a continuing education structure that helps people meet their goals, explore new ideas and develop their skills. There is so much possibility.”

“We were seeking a director who was visionary, dynamic, principled and collegial, with a strong entrepreneurial focus on service, a record of effective use of technology to support student success and a record of innovation in the pursuit of excellence and growth,” said Dr. Timmons. “We have found that person in Dr. Craig.”

Background

A graduate of New York University and York University in Toronto, Dr. Craig first came to Memorial in 2006 for a faculty position in the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS). Dr. Craig would serve as head of the department; associate dean (curriculum and programs), in HSS and, later, interim dean in the faculty.

Dr. Craig’s service to the university includes co-chairing (with Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo) the Dean’s Council Equity Diversity and Inclusion Working Group; membership on the Research Advisory Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; the Continuing Education Steering Committee; the Innovation Steering Committee; and the Key Performance Indicator Transforming Our Horizons Performance Measurement Dashboard Working Group.

Additionally, Dr. Craig founded and led the working group that developed a way for community members to enrol in university courses more easily.

“Creating the non-degree student status increases the accessibility of Memorial courses to the broader community,” said Dr. Craig. “It allows community members to more easily pursue their interests and can open doors to further education and exploration.”

Dr. Craig is a committed and engaged member of the broader community, as well as co-founder and co-chair of the board for Quadrangle: Newfoundland Labrador Sexual and Gender Diversity Community Centre; member of the Premier’s Roundtable on Gender Equity; and previous member of the board of Neighbourhood Dance Works, to name but a few.

In 2018 Dr. Craig received the Glenn Roy Blundon Centre Teaching and Learning Award for advancing accessible and equitable learning by integrating lived experience and applying universal design in curriculum development. Dr. Craig also received the 2016 President’s Award for Outstanding Teaching (Faculty) and is an honoree on the Wall of Notable Feminists and Trans-Activists, at Intersections: Centre for Marginalized Genders, at Memorial University.