FEBRUARY 25, 2016 – Laurentian University is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. David Lesbarrères as Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies effective July 1, 2016 for a five-year renewable term.
Dr. Lesbarrères has been acting Dean since the new Faculty of Graduate Studies was established in March 2014, reflecting the growing importance of the University’s 38 master’s and PhD programs. Prior to this role, he held the position of Director of Graduate Studies.
“Dr. Lesbarrères has an impressive track record at Laurentian,” said Dominic Giroux, President and Vice Chancellor. “Under his direction since August 2011, Laurentian has seen growth in graduate student enrolment and in the number of programs offered. With David at the helm, we will continue to expand our reach and enhance opportunities in graduate studies.”
Dr. David Lesbarrères came to Laurentian in 2004 following a PhD in Angers, France and a Post-Doctoral fellowship at the Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Helsinki. He was Department Vice-Chair of Biology from 2005 to 2008. Since 2007, he has been a graduate coordinator at Laurentian University for the M.Sc. in Biology and is now on the executive of the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies.
“I am proud to champion the Graduate Studies programs at Laurentian,” said Dr. Lesbarrères. “Our faculty and students are becoming internationally recognized for leading expertise in diverse areas and I look forward to seeing these successes multiply as we expand our program offerings in the coming years.”
In its graduate expansion plan, Laurentian has identified the need to accelerate opportunities for graduate studies in three areas of excellence (environmental sustainability, mining innovation and exploration, rural and northern health) and in two areas responding to regional needs (Indigenous relations and governance, sustainable northern economic development). The University has identified enrolment growth from 589 students in 2014-15 to 859 in 2018-19.
Programs to be expanded include Master’s programs in Architecture, Interdisciplinary Health, Geology, Biology, Humanities and Orthophonie, and PhD programs in Boreal Ecology, Rural and Northern Health, Natural Resource Engineering, and Mineral Deposit Geology, among others.