Dr. Kristin Baetz appointed dean, Faculty of Science

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Kristin Baetz, PhD, has been appointed dean, Faculty of Science, for a renewable term of five years, effective Jan. 1, 2022.   

Currently Dr. Baetz is a full professor and the assistant dean of research and special projects for the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. She has had progressive roles at the University of Ottawa since 2005. She was a Tier II Canada Research Chair from 2005 to 2015 and her research program straddled both fundamental discovery and translational research.

She has had numerous leadership roles including serving as the director of the Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology from 2014 to 2019. Her research programs focus on the systems biology approaches available in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae to unravel molecular mechanisms of the cell cycle and metabolism. 

Dr. Baetz holds a PhD (2000) from the University of Toronto in medical genetics and microbiology and a BSc Honours (1995) from Queen’s University in biochemistry. She currently sits on the board of Research Canada, a national, broadly based alliance dedicated to advancing health research through collaborative advocacy and is the former president of the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences, whose mandate is to advance and promote molecular biosciences in Canada.

Dr. Baetz has served extensively as both reviewer and chair at many funding agencies, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), where in 2017 she was recognized as an outstanding reviewer by the CIHR College of Reviewers. 

She is passionate about science and delivering future-focused programs that will allow our graduates to not just participate in but to drive the transformation of the Calgary and Alberta economy. Her guiding principle is that innovation and excellence are built on collaboration and diversity. She has a long-standing commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion and Indigenous engagement and looks forward to continuing her advocacy and reconciliation journey when she comes to UCalgary.

Her primary goals are to further strengthen the world-changing research within the Faculty of Science, engage with the community and ensure that all students, faculty, and staff feel their contributions are valued.    

A robust international search was conducted to surface the best possible candidate to serve as the next dean of science. I would like to extend my appreciation to the members of the advisory selection committee that I chaired for the time they dedicated to this important search. They are: William Ghali, vice-president research; Michael Hart, provost and vice-president (academic) representative; Wendy Benoit, tenured academic staff representative; Edwin Cey, tenured academic staff representative; Robert Marriott, tenured academic staff representative; Steve Vamosi, tenured academic staff representative; John Brown, decanal representative; John Baker, faculty association representative; Gloria Visser-Niven, MaPS representative; Karen Barron, AUPE representative; Chaten Jessel; Students' Union representative; Tanille Shandro, Graduate Students' Association representative; Susan Graham, General Faculties Council (GFC) representative; Elise Fear, GFC representative; Marianna Trujillo, community representative; and Sue Shaw, community representative. I also worked closely with our Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Dr. Teri Balser on this search as Dr. Baetz will report directly to her upon commencement of her deanship.  

I would also like to thank Dr. Bernhard Mayer for his continued service as interim dean of science until Dr. Baetz joins us. Bernhard has been an exceptional leader for the faculty during some very challenging times, both in his role of head of geoscience and since June 2020 as interim dean and I know he will ensure a smooth leadership transition. On Jan. 1, 2022 he will return to his role as professor in the Department of Geoscience and will continue to make an impact as an internationally recognized isotope tracer geochemist. 

Please join me in congratulating Kristin on her new role and welcoming her to UCalgary.   

Ed McCauley, PhD, FRSC
President and Vice-Chancellor