The search committee for the associate vice-president (academic) programs, complement planning and development has completed its work and recommended Dr. Sean Cadigan for the position.
President Kachanoski has accepted the recommendation; the Board of Regents approved the appointment on Aug. 24, 2016.
‘Ideal candidate’
Dr. Cadigan has been associate vice-president (academic) faculty affairs pro tempore since May 2015. In that role, he provided leadership in all areas pertaining to the employment relationship, working environment, career development and professional well-being of academic leaders, academic staff members and instructors.
“In this new role, Dr. Cadigan will be an active participant in a team-based, highly collaborative approach to senior academic leadership.”
He comes to the new leadership position with bargaining unit and significant academic administration experience. He has served on the Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty Association bargaining team and, most recently, as acting associate dean (research and graduate studies) in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
“In this new role, Dr. Cadigan will be an active participant in a team-based, highly collaborative approach to senior academic leadership,” said Dr. Noreen Golfman, provost and vice-president (academic). “His teaching and research experience at Memorial, combined with his knowledge and in-depth understanding of effective academic planning and development in higher education, make him an ideal candidate this challenging position.”
Position combines two roles
Dr. Cadigan will support the development of all educational programs, including curriculum, policy and program reviews, with special emphasis on seeking opportunities in new and emerging academic initiatives and programs; advise on resource allocation, particularly those of faculty complement, to ensure the best support possible for the quality and competitiveness of all educational and research programs, especially those that are direct responses to relevant university strategic plans and frameworks; and provide leadership in all areas pertaining to the employment relationship, working environment, career development and professional well-being of academic leaders, academic staff members and instructors, including, where applicable, the promotion and tenure process.
The new position was announced in late 2015 as part of a plan to combine the roles of associate vice-president (academic), planning, priorities and programs, and associate vice-president (academic), faculty affairs into one new position. The provost consulted with the Deans Council and other academic administrators regarding the roles and responsibilities of the new position to ensure it would best meet the needs of units in the academic portfolio.
History scholar
An accomplished historian and award-winning author, Dr. Cadigan was the recipient of the J.W. Dafoe Foundation Annual Book Prize for outstanding, non-fiction writing about Canada, Canadians and the nation in international affairs for his book Newfoundland and Labrador: A History.
He has been a professor in Memorial’s Department of History since 2001, and previously served as head of the history department and director of the master of employment relations program, which is jointly offered by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Business Administration. He came to Memorial from Dalhousie University, where he was associate professor of history and taught in the areas of maritime labour history, the history of fisheries and Canadian history.
Dr. Cadigan will begin a five-year term on Sept. 1, 2016.
