Chang

An academic of Jamaican parentage has been appointed dean of the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Canada's Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario. The Chang School is named in honour of the university's chancellor, who was born in Jamaica.

Chang, who is also chairman of Canada's third-largest investment fund company and second-largest publicly traded fund company - CI Financial - and a member of Ryerson's Board of Governors, was appointed ceremonial head of the university in 2006.

He is a past student of St George's College.

A release announcing the appointment of Dr Gervan Fearon as Dean of the Chang School was posted on the university's website recently. The statement was signed by Dr Alan Shepard, provost and vice-president academic of Ryerson University.

Value added

Fearon told The Gleaner last week that the Jamaican connection was value added to an already prestigious post.

"In that sense, it is an honour to be able to move forward his (Chancellor Chang's) vision," he said.

Shepard said he was delighted that Fearon was joining the Ryerson team, telling The Gleaner: "I am very excited about his appointment. He is going to be great."

In the recent release, Shepard said Fearon would bring an "extraordinary combination of talent, insight and experience from both inside the academy and beyond".

Fearon was born in England but lived in May Pen, Clarendon, while still very young.

From his seat as dean of the Chang School, which he hailed as a "very significant transformative mechanism", Fearon hopes to contribute to the development of education in Jamaica by maximising opportunities to develop the dialogue and collaboration between Canada's Ryerson and the universities of the West Indies (UWI) and Technology (UTech) in Jamaica.

The Chang School, one of Canada's leading providers of university-based adult learning, offers more than 1,100 courses and more than 75 career-related certificate programmes.

The school offers certificate programmes in a number of disciplines, including the arts, business, engineering and architecture.

The appointment is for five years and becomes effective July 1.

Associate professor position

Fearon's appointment will also include a tenured position as associate professor in the Department of Economics.

Fearon joins Ryerson from the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies at York University, where he is associate dean of academics.

Atkinson hosts more than 9,000 students and is the primary point of entry for the university's part-time and adult students. Fearon is currently responsible for coordinating the development of academic programmes, and for enrolment management within the faculty.

He has also served as acting dean and is cross-appointed in economics and in the School of Public Policy and Administration.

In the area of community development, Fearon is the faculty administrative leader of the York University TD Community Engagement Centre, an innovative community-based facility designed to improve public access to and involvement in University activities and resources.

tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com

Fearon

Dr Fearon's other achievements

Fearon is in his third year as president of Tropicana Community Services, a United Way agency that provides support to new immigrants.

Was a part-time instructor at the Chang School.

Has taught at the University of Toronto and has been a visiting scholar at the University of Washington.

Won the 2007 Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching for Atkinson at York University and the 2000 Professor of the Year Award from the Division of Management at the University of Toronto at Scarborough.

He has a BSc and MSc from the University of Guelph. He earned his PhD in Economics from the University of Western Ontario.