Dean's message
Dean Bedard-Haughn reflects on the college's strategic plan.
By Angela Bedard-HaughnAs I sat down to write this message, I found myself once again reflecting on the college’s strategic plan, appropriately themed “Adapting to Change.” Extending to 2025, the theme selected back in 2018 could not have been more prescient.
So far, we have seen a global pandemic, widespread drought, major changes in the college leadership team, many faculty retirements, new faculty hires, new degree and certificate programs, and a revitalization and renaming of our Indigenous Land Management Institute.
This issue of Agknowledge highlights many of the exciting changes, including our new associate dean academic, our Western Grains Research Foundation Research Chair, and the inspiring plans for the kihci-okâwîmâw askiy Knowledge Centre. Our faculty and staff are finding new ways to support food security, from work with Indigenous communities on wild rice cultivation to innovations in value-added processing in our Bioprocessing Pilot Plant. Amongst all these changes, what hasn’t changed is our commitment to responsibly caring for the environment while finding solutions to meet the demands of a hungry and growing world. You will read here about Dr. Pierre Hucl (PhD), who has announced his pending retirement, but not before his remarkable contributions to crop breeding led to his investiture with the Saskatchewan Order of Merit.
Our impressive alumni and our passionate graduate students are having impacts in communities, government, and across the entire value chain, from soil security to animal health and beyond.
In April 2023, USask launched the Be What the World Needs Campaign, the largest fundraising initiative in the history of the University of Saskatchewan. In concert, our donors and partners continue to step up and support our mission, through generous gifts of land, equipment, and financial resources that will allow us to have even greater impact, now and into the future. These investments ensure that we can deliver on our aspirations to be the college the world needs and continue to grow a strong, sustainable future for Saskatchewan and beyond.
As dean of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, I feel so fortunate to spend my days working with enthusiastic students, passionate faculty and staff, and the community that shares our commitments. Thank you for being part of that community. This issue provides just a glimpse into what we do, and I hope the stories are as inspiring and exciting for you as they are for us!