Hitting the pavement each morning at 5:30 a.m. for an early morning run, there is nothing to disturb Janice Deakin during these 50 sacred minutes, void of meetings, assignments and deadlines. nbsp;
Janice Deakin is the new Provost and Vice-President (Academic)-elect at The University of Western Ontario and the first woman to hold this senior position.
Her daily regimen helps bring into focus the day ahead. It is this discipline and assiduous work ethic she brings to her new position Aug. 1 as Provost and Vice-President (Academic)-elect at The University of Western Ontario.
She is the first female in the university’s history to hold this senior post.
Deakin, currently Associate Vice-Principal (Academic) and Dean of Graduate Studies at Queen’s University, will succeed Fred Longstaffe who has served in the role since 2005. She is also former director of the Queen’s School of Kinesiology and Health Studies.
“This is an impressive university. It’s commitment to excellence, to students, to community and accountability I find compelling. The accomplishments of this institution are absolutely phenomenal and these are the things that have drawn me here,” she says.
Running might be an individual sport, but at work Deakin is a team player who values collaboration.
“Institutions are best served when people work together,” she says. “I have been well served in my work career by listening and learning. It will be a challenge in a short period of time to learn about Western’s culture and practices and meet people, but I think that’s my number one priority.”
Among the titles on Deakin’s bookshelf is Malcolm Gladwell’s The Outliers, which carries the message that an individual’s success is often a group project and doesn’t lie in the hands of a single person.
In that vein, she plans to meet with faculty, staff and students to suss out the opportunities and challenges at Western and build her understanding of the community.
“Coming from kinesiology is a strength in a number of ways. Most schools of kinesiology are made up of academics and students who are interested in the humanities through to the bench sciences. Understanding different segments of the academy, different ways of knowing, and different ways of addressing problems has been very informative.
“I understand the university wants to move and increase its international presence, both Western going out into the world and increasing its international presence on campus through the development of curriculum that has an international appreciation and focus. I hope to be able to contribute to that initiative based on my experience from Queen’s,” she says.
A first generation Canadian, Deakin’s parents emigrated from Britain and she was raised in Smith Falls, Ont., north of Kingston. She is moving to London with her partner and two pet Bedlington Terriers.
Deakin holds three undergraduate degrees from Queen’s in psychology, physical education and education. She earned her Master of Science degree at McMaster University and her doctorate in kinesiology at the University of Waterloo.
“My mother was a school principal. My brother and I were brought up to see the opportunities that post-secondary education afforded us.”
Her brother is involved in international education and lives in Dubai.
She has served as president of the Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology, president of the Canadian Council of University Physical Education and Kinesiology Administrators, Vice-Chair of the Ontario Council of Graduate Schools and was a member of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities joint task force on graduate expansion through the Reaching Higher initiative.
Deakin is one of Canada’s foremost researchers in evaluating the determinants of expert performance in such sports as figure skating, the martial arts, basketball and volleyball. She has published extensively within her field and has provided technical reports to such agencies as the Department of National Defence, NATO and Sport Canada.
In addition, she has long been recognized as one of the country’s premier basketball referees and was the first woman to referee both World Championship and Olympic medal games.
“Our search committee saw in Dr. Deakin, a high-energy, seasoned, academic leader,” says Western President Amit Chakma. “Her track record shows her to be a strategic thinker and an extremely capable leader who can build effective teams and networks.”