Dr. Heather Hemming, Acadia University Vice-President Academic, today announced that Dr. Suzie Currie has been appointed Dean of Acadia’s Faculty of Pure and Applied Science commencing July 1, 2018.

“It’s my pleasure to welcome Dr. Currie back to Acadia to assume this important leadership role on our campus,” said Hemming. “Dr. Currie is an outstanding scholar, has an impressive research record, and has made significant contributions to policy and decision-making on a national level. In addition, she is a well-respected teacher and mentor who understands Acadia’s teaching and learning model very well. I want to thank members of the search committee for their excellent work and collective determination to find the right candidate for the Acadia community.”

Currie is currently a full professor and Head of the Department of Biology at Mount Allison University.  She describes herself as “a proud Acadia alumna who was inspired by many Acadia faculty and staff”. She holds a BSc (Honours) from Acadia, and an MSc as well as a PhD from Queen’s University supervised by Acadia alumnus, Dr. Bruce Tuffs.   Shortly after completing her PhD she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cambridge, UK working with Dr. Robert Boutilier (Acadia Class of 1976, DSC, 1996). Currie has been awarded over $1.5 million from NSERC, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, and the New Brunswick Environmental Trust Fund. She worked collaboratively with Mount Allison’s advancement team to use some of these funds to leverage a generous private donation from the Harold Crabtree Foundation to design and build the University’s Crabtree Aqualab Centre for Aquatic Sciences.

In addition to an exemplary teaching and research record, Currie has held several university administrative/ leadership roles including member of the Board of Regents, President of the Canadian Council of University Biology Chairs, and President of the Canadian Society of Zoologists.  She also served as the Acting Dean of Science and Graduate Studies at Mount Allison. Her involvement in committee work extended beyond the University to include leadership roles at NSERC, serving on the Executive Committee as co-chair of the Biological Systems and Functions Evaluation Group for two years.  In 2013, she was part of a 13-member national focus group on the Council of Canadian Academies’ Roundtable on the Allocation of the NSERC Discovery Grants.  Representing the natural sciences and engineering research across Canada, this committee provided advice to NSERC’s Committee on Grants and Scholarships.

“I am delighted to be returning to Acadia – a place that has been an inspiration and foundation for me in my personal and professional life,” said Currie. “Acadia is one of the most innovative, forward-looking universities in the country with world-class students, faculty and staff and I am excited to be a part of the long-standing commitment to discovery and innovation rooted in a liberal education. The collaborative, progressive and creative aspects of the position of Dean of Pure and Applied Science are particularly attractive to me and I look forward to many connections and conversations with the Acadia community in the coming months.”