Dr. Leo Groarke is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Cathy Bruce as the acting vice-president Research and Innovation at Trent University.

Professor Bruce, dean of Education, Teaching and Learning at Trent University since 2016, has been an integral member of the Trent community for over 17 years. A founding faculty member of the School of Education, Dean Bruce currently oversees all education programs, online learning initiatives and the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University.

Prof. Bruce is a full professor in the Trent School of Education, where she has been conducting and publishing federally-funded research for nearly two decades. Her research focus is mathematics learning and the role of spatial reasoning and self-efficacy in that learning. In 2011, she launched “Math for Young Children”, a SSHRC-funded research program involving over 170 educators and 1200 students, designed to investigate children's spatial and mathematics capabilities. Guiding a diverse and collaborative research team, Prof. Bruce acts as lead researcher for the Trent Math Education Research Collaborative (TMERC), an innovative research hub that leverages strong partner connections with teachers, mathematics educators, early childhood educators, and school boards.

“I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Prof. Bruce to this vital role within the University,” said Dr. Leo Groarke, president and vice-chancellor of Trent University. “Trent University is strongly positioned as a leader among research universities in Canada and around the world. Dr. Bruce will bring her proven leadership skills and dedication to collaborative research to the position at this pivotal time of research, innovation, growth and opportunity at Trent.”

“I am thrilled at this opportunity to build on the considerable success of the Office of Research and Innovation at Trent,” said Prof. Bruce. “The opportunities to combine the innovation of faculty research with our highly-engaged students are unique at Trent, a reflection of our stellar facilities, ideal size and interdisciplinarity. Our commitment to advancing knowledge and technologies through research are central to Trent’s growth and recognition on a national and international scale.”

Prof. Bruce’s career spans both academic and administrative leadership in which she has served as the president of the Association of Canadian Deans of Education, the vice-chair of the Ontario Association of Deans of Education, and the director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning at Trent University. A co-author of two math professional texts based on her research program, with a third in progress, Prof. Bruce has been recognized as a leading educator and researcher. She was named one of Ontario’s most outstanding university teachers by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) in 2012 and was a recipient of the Eduardo Flores International Leadership Award in 2015 for her leadership in action research.

Prof. Bruce holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum: Mathematics, Science, Technology from the University of Toronto; an M.A. from the University of Toronto in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning; and a B.A. and B.Ed. from York University. She will oversee the Research portfolio at Trent while the University conducts a search for a new Vice-President.