Implementation of the Office of Education and the Office of Research

The coming months will see the implementation of two CHS Offices, the Office of Education and the Office of Research, with further information on each below. 

Office of Education

Over the next few months, we will be establishing our Office of Education, responsible for shared student services, coordinated student advising, academic integrity processes, and administrative work related to experiential and work-integrated learning.

To this end, we are excited to announce the appointment of Lihong Yang as our inaugural Director, Office of Education. Lihong brings a breadth of knowledge and experience to this new role, with a Ph.D. from the University of Alberta in Administration of Postsecondary Education, a Master’s in International Journalism, and a Bachelor of Arts in English Linguistics and Literature.

Lihong has been on campus for over 20 years working in International Relations and Recruitment; as Assistant Registrar in Admissions in the Office of the Registrar; as Assistant Chair Administration; and most recently, as Academic Department Manager in the Faculty Arts. We look forward to Lihong joining the College of Health Sciences and are excited for her leadership in building the Office of Education, with next steps as follows:

• In spring and early summer, we will continue collaborating on process mapping for functions that will move to the Office of Education.
• Over the next few months, we anticipate student service-focused positions will be posted on the U of A Careers website. Staff are strongly encouraged to consider applying for these opportunities.
• Following recruitment of key positions, administrative processing in the Office of Education will commence.

Office of Research

In addition to the Office of Education, the College of Health Sciences will also establish an Office of Research, with further details to be shared as they are available. This work is happening in consultation with the Vice President (Research and Innovation), Senior Research Partners, and CHS Vice and Associate Deans of Research.

We also anticipate hiring and appointing a Director of Health Research to help establish the Office of Research in coming months and encourage anyone who is interested in the position to give strong consideration to applying.

Academic Leaders and Partners

Academic leaders at the college will include an associate dean responsible for academic leadership for education, including programming that enhances interdisciplinary/interprofessional opportunities, working closely with the Office of Education. We will also have an associate dean for health research to lead the college research strategy by working closely with the Senior Research Partner, CHS Vice and Associate Deans of Research, and the Office of Research. We are working to outline those roles, with planned appointments for July 2022. Importantly, academic leaders will play a role in strategic leadership beyond the functional mandate of these offices. More information will be circulated within a month on the process for individuals to express their interest in these positions.

Our partners are also working at both college and faculty levels to develop strategies and resources that will support our community, in partnership with the broader institutional model. We invite you to find your contact for alumni relations, communications and marketing, development, finance, HR, IT, research, student services enrollment, and student services recruitment on our directory page, which will be continuously updated as new partners are added.