Effective July 1, English Prof. Shirley Neuman, from the University of Alberta, and UBC Prof. Frieda Granot are the deans of Arts and Graduate Studies respectively.
"I know that in Dr. Neuman and Dr. Granot we have outstanding advocates for the faculties of Arts and Graduate Studies and for the university. I am certain they will maintain the tradition of strong leadership and will work with others to advance both disciplinary and interdisciplinary learning," said Dan Birch, vice-president, Academic and Provost.
Neuman, who chaired the English Dept. at the University of Alberta, successfully undertook several new initiatives including the introduction of full funding for PhD students, the creation of team-taught interdisciplinary modular graduate courses and the expansion of undergraduate studies. She was also responsible for developing, implementing and chairing the university's Women's Studies Program.
In addition, Neuman served on many of the University of Alberta's senior administrative committees including the Research Policy Committee, the President's Advisory Committee of Chairs, the Academic Planning Committee, the General Faculties Council and Senate.
She is a past president of the Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English and of the Canadian Association of Chairs of English. She also served as vice-president of the Aid to Scholarly Publications Program and as an executive member of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities.
Neuman currently is the president of the Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Royal Society of Canada.
The founding editor of Canadian literary presses NeWest and Longspoon, Neuman's research interests include autobiography, Canadian literature and women's writing. She is presently beginning work on a biography of Canadian poet and novelist bpNichol.
Granot joined UBC's Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration in 1975 after completing an interdisciplinary PhD in mathematics, computer science and business administration from the University of Texas at Austin.
An associate dean of Graduate Studies for the last five years, Granot's own research covers both theoretical and applied aspects in areas such as discrete mathematics, mathematical programming, game theory and network flows. In 1986, she was awarded the Advisory Council Chair Professor in Management Science in the Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration. Granot is also a member of UBC's Institute of Applied Mathematics and is associated with the research unit Forest Economics and Policy Analysis.
At UBC, Granot has worked with the PhD and MBA committees, was a member of the new MBA Core Committee and chairs the Faculty of Commerce committee on research development. She has successfully chaired the Faculty of Graduate Studies fundraising committee and serves on the faculty's long-range planning committee.