Airni

Dr. Airini (PhD), Provost and Vice-President Academic, joined USask in 2021 and holds a professorial appointment in the College of Education. Her three-decade career is defined by her leadership in Canada and internationally in areas of equity in higher education, Indigenous advancement, and converting research and policy into improved education outcomes. Her award-winning research and development initiatives have directly shaped 21st century education systems to close gaps in education success at school and post-secondary levels. Airini earned a BA in religious studies and a MEd from the University of Canterbury, an MBA from Massey University, and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of British Columbia. She holds academic appointments in three countries – Australia, Canada, and New Zealand – and currently advises the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Angela Bedard-Haughn

Dr. Angela Bedard-Haughn (PhD), Dean, College of Agriculture and Bioresources, was born and raised in the Black soil zone of Saskatchewan. She received her Bachelor of Science in 1998 and Master of Science in 2001 from USask, and a PhD in 2004 from the University of California, Davis. She began teaching and researching at USask in 2006, earning the Provost’s Outstanding New Teacher Award in 2010. She specializes in soil science research, focusing on management of wetland soils and predictive soil mapping. Her notable research program has been supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Saskatchewan Agriculture Development Fund, the Global Institute for Water Security, Environment Canada and several industry groups. She has also been active in experiential training, teaching field courses on soil and landscape classification at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Vince Bruni-Bossio

Dr. Vince Bruni-Bossio (PhD), Interim Associate Provost, Strategic Priorities, has been a faculty member and teacher of Management and Marketing in Edwards School of Business since 2012. He has held a Grandey Scholar position for five years at Edwards and has multiple journal publications, case publications, conference presentations, invited lectures and reviews. His research has focused on the cross-section of strategy and governance in non-profits, for-profits, credit unions and Indigenous organizations. Most recently, he has focused on how boards address the challenge of accountability in non-profits. As a teacher, Vince has received several awards for teaching excellence. He held a previous appointment in the Provost's office as the strategic project advisor and support. Vince was also the founding director of the Edwards Experiential Learning Initiative (EELI), which seeks to develop, support, and promote experiential learning for Edwards.

Wally Dion

Wally Dion lives and works in Binghamton, New York. He is a member of Yellow Quill First Nation (Saulteaux). He holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from the University of Saskatchewan. His major solo exhibition, skodenstoodis, focuses on new and recent artworks, including large-scale, site-specific neon sculpture, recent painting and drawing, and a selection of circuit board assemblages. skodenstoodis addresses broad social concepts relating to Indigenous mobility and empowerment, recognized through cultural, economic, and political powers. His use of image and materiality addresses time and tradition through a contemporary framework.

Matthew Dunn

Matthew Dunn, Director, Indigenous Engagement, is Dene and a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. He joined the Office of the Vice-Provost Indigenous Engagement team in 2019 to support the development and implementation of First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultural programming, policies, procedures and strategies, and education that advance the University of Saskatchewan’s 2025 Strategic Plan, Indigenous strategy, and the OVPIE vision and mandate, specifically related to Indigenization, reconciliation, decolonization and manachitowin.

Elizabeth (Liz) Duret

Liz Duret, CPHR, Senior Consultant, Diversity and Inclusion, is a proud Métis woman born and raised in Saskatoon. Along with Dr. Verna St. Denis, she co-leads anti-racism/anti-oppression education for USask’s senior leadership team, and she regularly leads workshops across campus to openly discuss diversity and stereotypes in an effort to educate and help make campus a more inclusive and welcoming place for all students, staff and faculty. Before moving into the education sector, she was a probation officer with the Department of Corrections and Public Safety. With over 20 years of human resources and consulting experience, she brings a wealth of experience, training, and passion to the work she does in the areas of diversity and inclusion, intercultural competency and Indigenous engagement. Liz is a certified life skills coach and group facilitator and holds her professional designation as a chartered professional in human resources.

Norman Fleury

Elder Norman Fleury, originally from St. Lazare, Manitoba, is a special lecturer and Michif advisor in the Department of Curriculum Studies, College of Education. A gifted Michif storyteller, he has been integral in the continued creation of a welcoming space where Indigenous knowledge and contributions are valued. In addition to being active for many years with Métis organizations and Michif preservation groups, he has written several books on the subject – including Canada's first Michif language dictionary. He is fluent in Michif, Cree, Dakota, Anishinaabemowin, French and English and has contributed to dozens of language resources, including dictionaries and grammar books, and he has provided innumerable translations for cultural resources.

Tarah Hogue

Tarah Hogue is Curator (Indigenous Art) and Remai Modern and co-chair of the Indigenous Curatorial Collective / Collectif des commissaires autochtones. Her work is invested in the capacity of art and artists to envision and enact otherwise ways of being in the world, while seeking to unsettle settler colonial frameworks by prioritizing Indigenous knowledges in dialogue with other cultural communities. She previously held positions at the Vancouver Art Gallery, grunt gallery, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, and the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery and in 2019, she received the Hnatyshyn Foundation - TD Bank Group Awards for Emerging Curator of Contemporary Canadian Art. She was raised in Red Deer, AB and is a citizen of the Métis Nation of Alberta.

Vanessa Hyggen

Vanessa Hyggen, Executive Assistant to the Vice-Dean, Indigenous in the College of Arts and Science, is from nemepith sipihk (Sucker River) in Northern Saskatchewan and a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. She is a painter and bead artist who is interested in utilizing memory, tradition, and themes of nature in her work. Her painting titled Treaty Annuity (2018) was purchased to be included in the Indigenous Art Collection of the Government of Canada and she has been a part of two art collaborations at the University of Saskatchewan: mÎkisak ikwa asiniyak/ Beads and Stone / Lii rasaad aykway lii rosh (2019), and anoch kipasikônaw / we rise / niipawi (2020), a collaborative art project with Elders, colleagues, students, artists, community members and USask artist-in-residence Lyndon Tootoosis.

Indigenous Advisory Circle

In 1998, a small group of Indigenous staff, primarily those who provided support for Indigenous students, came together to create a safe and welcoming space for Indigenous staff on campus. The Aboriginal Advisors’ Circle (AAC) was formalized in 2002 as a support for Indigenous advisors and other staff members who wanted a place to share information and ideas and the opportunity to support one another. Since it began, the membership of the group has grown to comprise of academic advisors and co-ordinators who work exclusively or extensively with Indigenous students, as well as others who provide supports and services for Indigenous students. In 2018, the group was renamed the Indigenous Advisory Circle (IAC). Members of the IAC are most often the people most connected to Indigenous students, their families and Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan and beyond.

Angela Jaime

Dr. Angela Jaime (PhD), Interim Vice-Provost Indigenous Engagement, is a member of the Pit River and Valley Maidu Tribes of Northern California. She joined the University of Saskatchewan in 2020 as Vice-Dean Indigenous in the College of Arts and Science having previously served as director of Native American and Indigenous Studies and associate director of the School of Culture, Gender, and Social Justice at the University of Wyoming. Angela has been teaching and consulting in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-racism, and social justice for the past 25 years. Her areas of research are in Indigenous women and their experiences in higher education, Indigenous education, stereotypes and generalizations of race, and culture and gender within education. She promotes social justice by critically examining systems of oppression, discrimination and assimilation of people of colour in higher education.

Tasnim Jaisee

Tasnim Jaisee, a political studies and women’s and gender studies student, is a former president of the University of Saskatchewan Students Union (USSU). During her time at USask, she has also served as the coordinator of the USSU Women’s Centre, vice-president culture and communications for the Bangladesh Undergraduate Student Federation and a student ambassador for USask’s student recruitment office. She was a speaker at USask’s TedX event in 2019 and received international recognition for the innovative policy ideas for supporting small- and medium-sized businesses owned by BlPOC entrepreneurs that her team presented during a recent thinkathon event funded by the European Union.

Melissa Just

Dr. Melissa Just (PhD), Dean, University Library, is responsible for the strategic direction and general operations of the Library, ensuring its continued contribution to the university’s goals, mission, vision, and values. She leads a team of 150 faculty and staff in seven libraries, University Archives & Special Collections, and Student Learning Services. Melissa joined the Library as Dean in 2017. She previously served as associate vice-president for information services, and director of New Brunswick Libraries, at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J, and held a variety of leadership roles in academic health sciences libraries in California.

Darcy Marciniuk

Dr. Darcy Marciniuk is Associate Vice-President Research and Professor of Medicine, Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. He is recognized internationally as an expert in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and clinical respiratory physiology with 420 invited international presentations and more than 200 peer-reviewed publications. He is a past-president of the Canadian Thoracic Society and American College of Chest Physicians, and served as chair of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and Deputy Editor Outreach for the journal CHEST. As Associate Vice-President Research, he led the development of the university's International Blueprint and currently chairs USask's Pandemic Response and Recovery Team.

Candice Pete-Cardoso

Candice Pete-Cardoso, Director, Indigenous Land Management Institute and co-chair, Indigenous Advisory Circle, is a nêhiyaw-iskwêw from the Little Pine First Nation. She graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Certificate in Indigenous Business Administration, a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters in Public Administration. She started her career with Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada before joining USask as the director of Indigenous Peoples resource management and coordinator of Aboriginal programs. During her ten years in the role, more than 200 students successfully graduated with a certificate specializing in lands and resource management, and she ensured that the program met the needs of Indigenous communities by incorporating Indigenous worldviews into curriculum.

Martin Phillipson

Martin Phillipson, Dean, College of Law, joined USask as a faculty member in 1999. He has held teaching positions at Osgoode Hall Law School, Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand and at the Australian National University. He earned his LLB from Leicester University and his LLM from the University of Saskatchewan. His teaching and research interests lie in the fields of intellectual property law, biotechnology law, international environmental law and the law of property. He is a frequent media commentator on issues relating to agricultural biotechnology and has appeared on CBC's The National and As it Happens. He has also acted as a consultant to the United Nations Environment Programme and the Australian Federal Government. In 2021, the College of Law celebrated the first graduates of the Nunavut Law Program, a partnership between the Government of Nunavut, Nunavut Arctic College, and the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan.

Verna St. Denis

Dr. Verna St. Denis (PhD) is Professor in Educational Foundations, College of Education, Special Advisor to the President on Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression and chair of USask’s Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Committee. She graduated with a teaching certificate from the Indian Teacher Education Program (ITEP) in 1980, earned a PhD from Stanford in 2002 and has been on faculty at USask since 1992. She is a member of Beardy’s and Okemasis First Nation and grew up as a non-status Indian and Métis in Parkland, Saskatchewan. Her scholarship has advanced anti-racist education. In addition to teaching anti-oppressive education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, Verna supervises graduate students research in anti-racist education and provides professional in-service education to schools and other educational organizations.

Peter Stoicheff

Dr. Peter Stoicheff (PhD), President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan (USask), was born in Ottawa, Canada, in 1956 and received degrees from Queen’s University and the University of Toronto, where he completed his PhD in literature in 1983. He began his 33-year career at USask in 1986. After serving as a professor and then dean of Arts and Science, Peter was appointed president in 2015. He has led USask to be one of Canada’s top research-intensive medical-doctoral universities, with global impact in water and food security, synchrotron science, medical imaging and agricultural technology. Recognizing the importance of postsecondary education to Indigenous peoples, Peter has supported USask to be a Reconciliation leader in the country, increasing its Indigenous student enrolments and ensuring its close connections with local and national Indigenous communities and organizations. He has also increased the university’s partnerships with other world-leading institutions around the world.

Donna van de Velde

Donna van de Velde is a Program Assistant, Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) and Structured Study Sessions (SSS) Support with the University Library, and a member of the Indigenous Advisory Circle. She is a committed advocate for social justice and decolonization efforts on campus. She co-curated, with librarian Deborah Lee, the exhibit Not Just Another Day Off: Orange Shirt Day and the Legacy of Indian Residential Schools (September 2021 - June 2022 at the Murray Library), which displays the work of generations of Indigenous educators, scholars and community members that connects Residential schools with anti-Indigenous racism and their combined legacies. The exhibit and was launched in September 2021, to coincide with the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Karla Jessen Williamson

Dr. Karla Jessen Williamson (PhD), Professor in Educational Foundations, College of Education, is born a Kalaaleq (Inuk) from Greenland. Formerly, she was the executive director of the Arctic Institute of North America (AINA), the first woman and first Inuk to hold the position. Fluent in Danish, English, and Greenlandic, she is an educator and researcher on cross-culturalism, multiculturalism, antiracism, and Aboriginal epistemology. She a member of several national organizations such as the Advisory Committee for the Minister of Natural Resources, and previously Canada’s International Polar Year National Committee and the Canadian Council on Learning. She is a member of distinction on the Greenland Reconciliation Commission.

Kate Boyer

Kate Boyer is a College of Arts and Science student in the Gabriel Dumont Institute program. She is culturally, academically and artistically talented with a dedication to life-long learning and strives for excellence in everything that she does. In 2020, she received an Indigenous Student Achievement Awards for academic excellence. As a traditional Metis dancer she’s had several opportunities throughout the year to dance at different events and conferences taking place on campus.

Dean Smith Band

Dean Smith is a Métis old time fiddler from Prince Albert. He has had the opportunity to play for many festivals and dances throughout Saskatchewan and Alberta. He recorded his first fiddle album in 2014 called Old Tyme Fiddle Favourites.

T.J. Warren

T.J. Warren is a cultural knowledge keeper from the Diné (Navajo) Nation of Arizona. He is an artist and an educator in Saskatoon who performs internationally and volunteers to organize powwow events in Western Canada. When he was a student in USask’s Indian Teacher Education Program (ITEP), he was instrumental in working with the university to rethink its position on charging international student fees for Indigenous students from the United States. He received an Indigenous Student Achievement Award in 2018 in recognition of his exemplary leadership.