Dean's message

Welcome everyone to the Faculty of Science and Technology.

It was a tremendous honor for me to be appointed Dean of Science and Technology this past spring. Having heard so many students talk about their fantastic experiences and great passion for Mount Royal, I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to join this amazing university and participate in shaping its future. When I walked through the East Gate entrance for the very first time, I was struck by powerful feelings of friendliness, pride and community, as well as everyone’s unwavering dedication to providing students with “face-to-face” learning experiences in small class settings. My initial interactions with the wonderful professors, support staff members and students in Science and Technology have been nothing less than inspiring, and I am overflowing with excitement about our next years together.

Everyone in Science and Technology is eagerly anticipating the official opening of our new wing this September. It contains several state-of-the-art, fully equipped labs, as well as a number of disciplinary student study centres. Each of these centres is supported by an expert staff member who provides supplementary help to students on any course material in the respective discipline. These student learning environments are simply outstanding.

One of the most significant events in Mount Royal’s rich one hundred year history was its change from college to university status in 2009. What does this mean for students in Science and Technology? First and foremost, it means that an array of undergraduate degree programs is now available to complement existing transfer and diploma programs. Students can study towards a Bachelor of Science, majoring in General Science, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Geology or Health Science. In addition, we offer the Bachelor of Computer Information Systems and the Bachelor of Applied Science – Environmental Science.

Another major outcome of the transition to university status is a greater emphasis on integrating research into our undergraduate programs. The best programs in science and technology combine the traditional teaching of scientific knowledge and theory with practical training in scientific research, thus providing students with essential critical thinking skills for evaluating scientific information. Students must engage in research to fully understand the process of science. We currently have a growing core of excellent professors who are active in scientific research or the scholarship of teaching and learning. Undergraduate students participating in their research programs gain hands-on experience in research through rich one-on-one interactions with their professors.

An incredible amount of work has been done to develop and implement our new degree programs in such a short time, plan, equip and bring on line the new teaching wing, and increase the integration of research into our undergraduate programs. This has been a total team effort in Science and Technology , and everyone deserves a great big… THANK YOU AND JOB WELL DONE. But clearly our work is not nearly done! Planning is well underway on the development of additional degree programs. As well, I am excited to say that the development of new research facilities in Science and Technology has been recognized as a priority at Mount Royal, and we all look forward to such a project unfolding in the next years. Finally, none of this can happen without people. We will take great care in recruiting and retaining the best possible teachers and support staff members. Our hard work in all these areas will help ensure that students in the Faculty of Science and Technology at Mount Royal receive a personalized undergraduate experience that helps them become the successful scientists, health professionals, educators and leaders who shape Canada’s future.

Jeffrey I. Goldberg, PhD