Trent University is pleased to announce that Dr. Cathy Bruce has been appointed as the dean of the School of Education & Professional Learning for a five-year term commencing July 1, 2016.

An award-winning professor, Professor Bruce has been serving successfully as interim dean since 2015 and is one of the founding members of Trent’s School of Education. She is also the director of the Trent Centre for Teaching and Learning.

“With 14 years of classroom teaching experience, and 13 years in academia, Cathy’s expertise and in-depth understanding of the many different roles in education, combined with her leadership qualities, will be a true asset to Trent’s School of Education,” said Dr. Jackie Muldoon, provost and vice-president academic at Trent University.

Speaking of the appointment, Prof. Bruce said: “The School of Education and Professional Learning at Trent has outstanding programs and rich learning opportunities for students. I am honoured to be appointed as dean of Education, and I look forward to exciting new developments including, advancing our new Master’s in Educational Studies program, the start-up of our new concurrent Bachelor of Education for self-identified Indigenous students, and to continually enriching our teacher education stream, additional qualifications programs, and our consecutive Bachelor of Education.” 

A professor at Trent since 2003, Prof. Bruce has been studying teaching and learning for over 25 years and is known for her innovations in mathematics teaching. She leads the Trent Math Education Research Collaborative, focused on research projects concerning the role of spatial reasoning in mathematics learning and the teaching of fractions. In 2012, she was named one of Ontario’s most outstanding university teachers by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA).

Reporting to the provost and vice-president Academic, the dean provides academic leadership and direction for the School of Education, overseeing all programs housed within the School, including the undergraduate Teacher Education Stream and Teacher Emphasis programs, the post-graduate Consecutive Bachelor of Education and new Concurrent Indigenous Bachelor of Education, the graduate level Master in Educational Studies, and the professional Additional Qualifications program. The dean also directs the operations of the Trent Centre for Teaching and Learning.

“I am thrilled to be able to continue to support the Centre for Teaching and Learning, which is a Trent-wide centre that celebrates and advances teaching excellence at Trent,” Prof. Bruce added.