Media releases

• Canadian scholar, academic leader to be Brock’s next Provost

  Monday, May 11, 2020 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 11 May 2020 – R0082

  Lynn Wells, an accomplished scholar and academic leader, will be Brock University’s new Provost and Vice-President Academic, effective July 1, 2020.

  Brock President Gervan Fearon made the announcement Monday, May 11, welcoming the scholar and researcher to Niagara. Wells is currently the Associate Vice-President, Students and Teaching at MacEwan University in Edmonton, and previously served as the Provost and Vice-President, Academic, and Acting President at the First Nations University of Canada, in Regina. She has many years experience as a professor, teacher and researcher in the Department of English, including scholarly work in contemporary British fiction.

  “Brock is pleased to welcome someone with the wealth of experiences that Dr. Wells brings to our campus,” said Fearon. “Lynn is a highly respected teacher, has undertaken thoughtful and important research and is one of the country’s leading senior academic administrators. Our faculty, students and staff as well as the academic mission and strategic priorities of the University will be well served by her appointment.”

  Wells said she is excited to be joining an institution where academic excellence, research strength, inclusivity and university-community partnership are key priorities.

  “As someone from Ontario, I’ve long known that Brock is a community of accomplished faculty, researchers and great students,” she said. “With Canada’s universities working to address major challenges resulting from the global pandemic, Brock’s role is even more vital to Niagara and to Ontario, and I am honoured to be joining the institution and the community.”

  Wells has more than a decade of experience in senior administrative roles at universities. Prior to accepting her current position in 2018, she spent seven years in the senior posts at First Nations University of Canada. She also served from 2006 to 2011 at the University of Regina, in consecutive postings as Associate Dean (Research and Graduate), Faculty of Arts; Acting Dean, Faculty of Arts; and Associate Vice-President (Academic).

  She received her PhD (English) from Western University (1997); MA (English) from York University (1987); and Honours BA (English/French Studies) from York (1986, Summa Cum Laude).

  Wells will succeed longtime Brock leader Greg Finn, who stepped into the University’s senior academic role in October 2018, and who has been instrumental in supporting the implementation of the University’s Strategic Plan and helping Brock achieve record enrolments.

  Fearon praised Finn for his “tireless service,” saying the community is indebted to him for providing vital leadership and stability during a transitional phase at Brock.

   

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-347-1970

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock’s Cuvée launches new online experience to celebrate the VQA wine industry

  Thursday, May 07, 2020 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 7 May 2020 – R0081

  Put on your party attire, fire up the laptop and get ready to celebrate the Ontario VQA wine industry as Brock University moves its annual Cuvée event online.

  The Cuvée 2020 Online Experience launches on Friday, May 22 at cuvee.ca. The virtual experience will feature the 48 wineries, 12 restaurants and seven breweries/cideries that were originally slated to take part in the physical Grand Tasting experience last month. The free online experience does not require tickets and will be accessible until the next Cuvée in 2021.

  In videos created exclusively for the experience, participating winemakers virtually pour and reveal what they chose as their favourite wines for Cuvée, give pairing tips and share unique product signature styles that make their choices truly special.

  A link to each participating winery, brewery/cidery and culinary partners’ online store will also be featured, so guests can bring the complete Cuvée Grand Tasting experience into their living rooms by placing online orders at any time.

  Niagara band Jonesy also contributed a special performance video for the online experience so guests can dance the night away in an at-home version of Après Cuvée.

  Organized by Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI), Cuvée was originally scheduled to take place on April 25 but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Barb Tatarnic, Manager of Cuvée, says organizers worked hard to develop a fun, virtual experience so wine-lovers could still celebrate an experience they look forward to all year.

  “What makes Cuvée special is its ability to bring the industry together in celebration of excellence in the Ontario VQA wine industry and, in 2020, our guests can still do that virtually, whenever they want,” she says. “Get dressed up in your best gala attire — or stay in your sweats, go to cuvee.ca, and get ready to meet our industry partners, listen to their stories, and learn more about the labour of love that drives their craft.”

  Tatarnic also says the experience helps support the wineries, breweries and restaurants that are being directly impacted by the pandemic, financially and otherwise.

  “Although no one could have imagined the challenges brought about by COVID-19, it is important to now stand together, while apart, and support local industry,” she says.

  Thomas Bachelder, Winemaker and Co-owner at Bachelder Niagara and Winemaker, at Le Clos Jordanne, is thrilled the opportunity to gather virtually with colleagues and friends can still take place.

  “Cuvée is a moment in time — a brief shining moment, once a year — where all come together as one collegial community,” he says. “We have learned how to reach out and hug our fellow human beings virtually, and to all of you who have dreamt your ‘Cuvées’ into being but are not able to physically be together to pour them, to all of us, we say ‘Santé.’”

  Cuvée also serves to honour and acknowledge successes and breakthroughs in the industry and advance vital grape and wine research — something CCOVI Director Debbie Inglis says is important now more than ever.

  “Bringing Cuvée online showcases Brock’s ability to still support and celebrate our VQA wine industry while it navigates unprecedented challenges,” she says. “Being able to raise a glass together, even if only virtually, will unite us and help us emerge stronger.”

  The Cuvée Online Experience also coincides with the #30DaysofVQA, an initiative created by Wine Country Ontario to promote the province’s VQA wine industry.

  Proceeds from Cuvée support the Cuvée Legacy Fund, established to fund industry-driven research initiatives and scholarships for students. This year’s Cuvée Hosting Award for Academic Excellence recipient is Brock Oenology and Viticulture student Jessica Oppenlaender. All of the 2020 industry-related Cuvée awards will be presented at Cuvée 2021.

  Watch cuvee.ca and follow @cuveegrandtasting and @winecountryont on social media for further information on the Cuvée 2020 Online Experience.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Sarah Ackles, Marketing and Communications Officer, Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, Brock University sackles@brocku.ca, 647-746-4453

  * Dan Dakin, Manager Communications and Media Relations, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-347-1970 

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  Categories: Media releases