{"id":73123,"date":"2021-07-08T15:35:32","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T19:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=73123"},"modified":"2021-07-08T19:27:17","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T23:27:17","slug":"lynn-wells-hits-ground-running-as-brocks-interim-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2021\/07\/lynn-wells-hits-ground-running-as-brocks-interim-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Lynn Wells hits ground running as Brock\u2019s Interim President"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lynn Wells is eager to dig in and get to work.<\/p>\n

Brock\u2019s new Interim President learned the lay of the land as the University\u2019s Provost and Vice-President, Academic, and plans to waste no time as she takes on the new leadership role, which began July 1.<\/p>\n

With the departure of Gervan Fearon<\/a>, the Board of Trustees appointed Wells as Interim President and Vice-Chancellor for a period of up to two years while a search for a successor is completed. She will continue as Provost as well during this time.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Fearon left us with a great legacy and lots of positive momentum,\u201d Wells says. \u201cHe has seen us through not only this very difficult year with COVID, but also a challenging time the year before with the reduction and freeze of provincial tuition rates. Most importantly, he has left us with our Institutional Strategic Plan, which provides a strong foundation to build on, and a talented team to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

The accomplished scholar and academic leader<\/a> stressed that while she is now at Brock\u2019s helm, it will be through the collective efforts of senior administration, faculty and staff from across the University that Brock will continue to thrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re making tremendous progress,\u201d she says, \u201cand we need to keep that momentum going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wells, who first joined the University in July 2020, says Brock is on track for an \u201cexciting couple of years,\u201d with plans to relocate its Hamilton campus to Burlington<\/a>, development of the University\u2019s Engineering programs<\/a>, expansion of continuing education and the arrival of the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games.<\/p>\n

But at the forefront, as planning continues for a significant return to campus<\/a> this fall, the safety of students, faculty and staff remains the University\u2019s top priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re figuring out what that \u2018new normal\u2019 is in terms of hybrid learning and teaching, research being conducted in new ways and work-from-home arrangements being made,\u201d Wells says. \u201cI think people are eager to get back onto campus and to resume those relationships that have been difficult over the past 16 months, and we\u2019re doing what we can to welcome them back safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brock will also focus on re-engaging with the community and working to be part of Niagara\u2019s pandemic recovery, Wells says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part of Brock\u2019s identity. It is a university that\u2019s deeply connected to the community around it,\u201d she says. \u201cThe community supports Brock, and we want to be there to show that same support as we all learn to re-engage socially and economically in a new way after the worst of the pandemic is over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also high on Wells\u2019 priority list is supporting the development of more Indigenous programming, services, research and community engagement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working to expand the Tecumseh Centre and to develop a new vision for an interdisciplinary approach that will be part of the fabric of Brock University as a whole,\u201d Wells says. \u201cBrock\u2019s Faculty of Education has been a leader in this area for many years, but now we\u2019re working with the Aboriginal Education Council and Two Row Council to expand that vision on an institutional level, and that involves a lot of community consultation.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the tragic events over the past few weeks with discoveries tied to Canada\u2019s residential school system, it\u2019s even more important for Brock to step up and show its commitment to the Indigenous people of this country,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Wells spent several years of her career working with Indigenous communities as the Provost and Vice-President, Academic, and Acting President at the First Nations University of Canada in Regina. Prior to joining Brock, she also served as the Associate Vice-President, Students and Teaching at MacEwan University in Edmonton.<\/p>\n

While she recognizes it will not be an easy task to simultaneously take on two of Brock\u2019s most prominent positions, it\u2019s a challenge Wells is ready to embrace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had other experiences in my professional life where I\u2019ve held two roles at the same time. You just have to keep very organized, keep very clear boundaries between the two kinds of work, delegate effectively and communicate well,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m always running at full speed and that will continue, but I\u2019ve got a lot of great people running alongside me. That\u2019s all we need to keep going and to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lynn Wells is eager to dig in and get to work. Brock\u2019s new Interim President learned the lay of the land as the University\u2019s Provost and Vice-President, Academic, and plans to waste no time as she takes on the new leadership role, which began July 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":73125,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7484,7,3319,4052,1,4],"tags":[8809,251],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73123"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73123"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73126,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73123\/revisions\/73126"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}