News & Events

Psychology chair Jean-Paul Boudreau has been named dean of the Faculty of Arts.

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Jean-Paul Boudreau as dean of the Faculty of Arts. The appointment is for a five-year term beginning August 1, 2011.

Jean-Paul has been a driving force behind Ryerson's growing reputation in the discipline of psychology. For the past eight years, as chair of the Department of Psychology, he has worked with energy and resolve to help bring the department to national and international prominence. As chair he oversaw the development of new programs and curriculum to meet the needs of 21st-century students, including the launch of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs. Under his leadership, the department recruited more than 20 distinguished full-time faculty from leading institutions.

Jean-Paul's passion for research is evident in his impact on the growth of the department's research infrastructure, external funding grants and graduate and undergraduate opportunities. New and renovated lab spaces have been a priority for Jean-Paul, and the department now boasts a research and training centre with 28 labs. He has developed key external partnerships and played an integral role in fostering Ryerson's relationship with St. Michael's Hospital to create a psychology training clinic for inter-professional education and placement opportunities for students in nursing, nutrition and psychology.
Over the course of his career, Jean-Paul has become a leading expert in infant cognition and development. He is the director of Ryerson's Children, Health, Infancy, Learning, Development (CHILD) Lab and is a founder of the Early Development Group Exchange (EDGE), a consortium of three research labs involving 15 undergraduate and graduate student trainees. Jean-Paul is a dynamic researcher and writer with many peer-reviewed publications to his credit, and he has delivered over 50 international presentations and workshops. 

Jean-Paul is actively engaged in Canada's research community, serving on the boards of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Canadian Psychological Association, and the Canadian Psychological Foundation. He represents Ryerson on the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and serves on the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council grants review committee for Biological Systems and Functions. In 2007, he was appointed by the federal minister of health as co-chair of the National Experts Advisory Committee on Children's Well Being Centres of Excellence.

Since joining Ryerson in 2003, Jean-Paul has contributed to the university's growth and development through its governing bodies, serving on the Board of Governors and Senate, and numerous committees. In 2006, he was named Ryersonian of the Year.

Prior to joining Ryerson, Jean-Paul was a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Prince Edward Island. He was chair of the department and director of the Infant Cognition Lab. His international work includes an appointment as a visiting scholar at Uppsala University in Sweden, and as a visiting professor at the University of Maryland.

Jean-Paul received his PhD in Experimental Psychology from Tufts University in Boston, his MA in Child Development from Laurentian University and his BA from the University of New Brunswick.

I extend my sincere thanks to Interim Dean Mark Lovewell. Mark has provided excellent leadership to the Faculty of Arts during this time of transition and has overseen the development of a number of undergraduate and graduate programs in Arts. Mark is currently engaged in the search for the next chair of the Department of Psychology and will remain interim dean until Jean-Paul assumes his new role in August.

Thanks also to the members of the search committee for dean, whose names are listed below, for their willingness to serve.  

Please join me in congratulating Professor Jean-Paul Boudreau on this appointment.

Alan Shepard
Provost and Vice President Academic

Members of the search committee for dean, Faculty of Arts:

Randy Boyagoda
Professor, Department of English

Michelle Dionne
Professor, Department of Psychology

Tony Hernandez
Professor, Department of Geography

Ursula Erne
Student, Spatial Analysis

Gerd Hauck
Dean, Faculty of Communication & Design

Kathleen Kellett-Betsos
Professor, Department of French and Spanish

Arne Kislenko
Professor, Department of History

Neil Thomlinson
Professor and Chair, Department of Politics and Public Administration

Kim Varma
Professor and Interim Chair, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

Non-voting member:
Amy Casey
Director, The Office of the Provost