July 21, 2008
Media contact: Kim Lawrence
Cell: 604-302-6257
Office: 604-864-4611
kim.lawrence@ufv.ca
Rosetta Khalideen appointed UFV Dean of Professional Studies
Dr. Rosetta Khalideen is the new Dean of Professional Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley.
Khalideen is the first dean of the newly created Faculty of Professional Studies at UFV. Her portfolio includes aviation, business administration, child and youth care, adult education, teacher education, health sciences, library and information technology, and social work and human services.
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Dr. Rosetta Khalideen |
She comes to UFV from Saskatchewan’s University of Regina, where her most recent position was director of adult education and human resource development programs within the Faculty of Education, as well as associate professor within the same faculty.
She holds a PhD from the University of Alberta, a Master of Education degree from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and a Bachelor of Education degree and teaching certificate from the University of Guyana.
Khalideen started her professional life as a teacher, principal, and educational administrator in her native Guyana. After coming to Canada to pursue graduate studies, her career evolved toward educational research and administration. In addition to her recent University of Regina posting, she has been a manager of English as a Second Language programs, a research assistant, and a project assistant.
Khalideen has administrative experience in areas such as strategic planning, building community partnerships, human resources management, and budget management.
Her areas of research interest include internationalization in higher education, English as a second language, prior learning assessment and recognition, and adult education. She was administering a major Canadian International Development Agency Tier 1 project in which the University of Regina is working with the University of Malawi to redesign and redevelop technical education programs in the African country.
Khalideen has been following the evolution of the post-secondary system in British Columbia and the provincial government’s Campus 2020: Thinking Ahead initiative, and was interested in the transition of university colleges to universities.
“I had read about the changes being made and thought this would be an interesting and exciting time to join UFV,” she said. (UFV will officially become a university, shedding its university college designation, on September 1, 2008.) “It’s a great time to be at a place like this.”
Khalideen says that she hopes she can offer some insight from her time spent at larger institutions such as the Universities of Regina and Alberta, as the former UCFV evolves into the University of the Fraser Valley. She stresses that she’s here to serve.
“I’m very pleased and thrilled to be here and am looking forward to working with the people at UFV. I’m approaching the end of my professional career and as such my personal agenda is to simply be of service in the best way that I can for this university,” she says.
Her portfolio includes a greater number of academic disciplines than is usually found at larger universities. She’s looking forward to finding out more about each of them, and working together with her department heads to create a vision for the new Faculty of Professional Studies.
“I have quite a bit of experience with strategic planning, and think I can help our faculty to set goals and priorities and identify the actions we need to take to achieve those goals,” she said. “I have already met many wonderful, committed, and energized people, and they are very excited about the prospect of becoming a university. I’m looking forward to sharing in that excitement and process.”
She is already impressed by the collegial atmosphere at UFV, and likes to share an illustrative anecdote about noting that she needed to find a good Lutheran church if she were to move to the Fraser Valley. The day after she returned to Regina after her initial job interview, she found an email in her inbox from a UFV faculty member, directing her to the local Lutheran church and minister.
Khalideen has moved to Abbotsford with her husband Oscar. She has two grown daughters who live in Alberta. She enjoys walks, reading, and writing, and has published some of her poetry.
Khalideen places a high value on community service - she received a Saskatchewan Centennial Medal for her contributions in 2005 - and is looking forward to seeking volunteer opportunities connected to immigrant communities in the Fraser Valley.
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