President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri circulated this announcement to the York community yesterday:
It is with regret that I announce that Douglas Peers, dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, has recently accepted an offer to become dean of arts at the University of Waterloo, effective July 1, 2011. While we are sorry to see his departure, this is an excellent opportunity and we wish him well in this new post.
After consulting with Provost Patrick Monahan, we have determined that it would not be in the best interest of the University to undertake a search for a permanent replacement of the dean of FGS this late in the academic year.
As such, I am pleased to confirm the appointment of Allan Hutchinson, professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, as interim dean for a one-year period (July 1, 2011 until June 30, 2012), allowing us the time needed to do a proper search. The appointment for the term was approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors on March 9, 2011.
Professor Hutchinson is one of our leading scholars, and was named a Distinguished Research Professor and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is also an experienced administrator, having served as an associate dean, as well as chair of Senate. Lastly, he is an award-winning teacher, having received the University-Wide Teaching Award and having been a finalist on the TVO “Best Lecturer” series.
I would like to thank Doug for his leadership and commitment to York during his time as dean, and I am very confident that Allan will provide effective leadership over the next year as we search for a new dean for this important Faculty.