8 am	Registration, Tea/Coffee Location: Private Dining Room, Marquis Hall
8:15 am	Opening Remarks
8:30 am	Session 1 Location: Private Dining Room, Marquis Hall The New World of Higher Education: The Pandemic, Digital Technology, and Change Broad Perspective of Resultant Changes in Higher Education: Dr. Nancy Turner (PhD), Senior Director, Teaching and Learning Enhancement Teaching and Programme Delivery: Dr. Paula MacDowell (PhD), Assistant Professor, Curriculum Studies – Educational Technology and Design (ETAD) Security in the Computer Age: Dr. Jay Wilson (EdD), Professor, Curriculum Studies
10:15 am	Break
10:45 am	Session 2 Location: Private Dining Room, Marquis Hall The New World: Societal Changes – Canadian Political Schisms or Rhythms Dr. Ken Coates (PhD), Professor and Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy Dr. Malcolm King (PhD), Professor, Community Health and Epidemiology
noon	Lunch Location: Gordon Oakes Red Bear Student Centre
2 pm	CURAC Anniversary Celebration Location: Private Dining Room, Marquis Hall 2 pm Setting the Stage: Fireside Chat with The Honorable Roy Romanow in conversation with Eric H. Cline, K.C. A life story, from Canadian born in a Ukrainian family in Saskatoon to Premier of Saskatchewan and key actor on the Canadian political scene. With Eric Cline, long-term colleague of Roy Romanow in the provincial legislature, including Cabinet posts in Finance, Health, Justice, and Industry and Resources. 2:25 pm Q & A 2:45 pm Break 3 pm CURAC Early Beginnings: Peter H. Russell, founding President of CURAC – Fred Fletcher, Emeritus Professor of Communications Studies and Political Science, York University, will introduce a video of University of Toronto Emeritus political scientist, Peter H. Russell, who will share with us the early beginnings of CURAC. 3:15 pm CURAC’S 20-Year Milestone – Retired faculty in sociology and linguistics at Saint Mary’s, Ron Cosper, will highlight CURAC’s accomplishments from its founding congress in 2003 at Dalhousie University to present days, with illustrations prepared by Kate Maguire, MURA/ARUM Communications Coordinator. 3:30 pm Where We Are and What’s Next – Fred Fletcher will kick off a brainstorming session on CURAC’s priorities for the next decade. 3:40 pm Breakout discussion groups – Participants will form groups with a moderator and note taker in each group. 4:45 pm Discussion Group Highlights and Wrap Up – Carleton former University Librarian, David Holmes, will conclude the session.
6 pm	Cocktails, Conference Banquet and CURAC Awards Program Location: Exeter Room, Marquis Hall

8 am	Registration, Tea/Coffee Location: Private Dining Room, Marquis Hall
8:30 am	Session 3 Location: Private Dining Room, Marquis Hall The New World: Research and Development Food Developments with Focus on Plant Proteins: Dr. Michael Nickerson (PhD), Acting Department Head (Food and Bioproduct Sciences) and Professor, College of Agriculture and Bioresources, and Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Research Program (SRP) Chair in Protein Quality and Utilization Rare Earth Developments: Dr. Jack Zhang, Associate Vice-President, Strategic Technologies, Mining and Minerals, Saskatchewan Research Council Placing Saskatchewan among Global Leaders of Nuclear Research, Development and Training: Dr. John Root (PhD), Executive Director, The Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation, University of Saskatchewan
10:15 am	Break
10:45 am	Session 4 Location: Private Dining Room, Marquis Hall The New World of Health Services: A Status and Change Report: Dr. Anurag Saxena, Professor and Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education, College of Medicine. VIDO, its Role, Current Efforts, and the Future: Dr. Andrew Van Kessel (PhD), Director, of Research, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), University of Saskatchewan
noon	CURAC Post-Conference Board Meeting Location: Room 4D37, 4th Floor, Agriculture Building For new CURAC board members only
2 pm	Tour of Patterson Garden Arboretum Location: Patterson Garden Arboretum, University of Saskatchewan campus Muster point TBA.

• Program-at-a-glance

Dr. Paula MacDowell (PhD), Assistant Professor, Department of Curriculum Studies – Educational Technology and Design (ETAD) at the University of Saskatchewan, is a design and technology specialist working on research and advocacy initiatives to empower children and youth through education and technology. She is widely recognized as a thought leader in immersive learning and an innovator in technologies for pro-social and environmental change. She is the co-editor of Immersive Education: Designing for Learning, which focuses on designing and being a designer of immersive education.

Paula sits on the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN) Board of Directors, as the Director of Practitioners and a Practitioner Chair for the annual iLRN conference. Her professional interests include working collaboratively to mobilize research and practical knowledge of immersive learning in K-12, higher education, work-based, and industry contexts.

Dr. Jay Wilson (EdD), is a Professor in the Department of Curriculum Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. His program of research centers on innovative learning design, online teaching and learning, and experiential learning assessment. He works to support the understanding and growth of pre-service and in-service teachers and professors through his service and scholarship.

Professor Wilson teaches in the areas of high school curriculum, assessment, program evaluation, technology and multimedia, and video production. His teaching has been recognized locally, nationally, and internationally in many ways including the 3M National Teaching Fellowship (2017), the University of Saskatchewan Master Teacher Award (2015) and Outstanding New Teacher Award (2010), the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education D2L Innovation Award (2012), and as an Apple Distinguished Educator (2011).

Dr. Ken Coates (PhD) is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is also the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s Senior Policy Fellow in Aboriginal and Northern Canadian Issues.

Ken has worked as a consultant for Indigenous groups and governments in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia as well as for the United Nations, companies, and think tanks. He is the author of several books inculding the recent From Treaty Peoples to Treaty Nation (with Greg Poelzer) and co-author of Arctic Front: Defending Canada in the Far North, the Donner Prize winner for the best book on public policy in Canada. He contributes regularly, through newspaper pieces and radio and television interviews, on contemporary discussions on northern, Indigenous, and technology-related issues.

Dr. Malcolm King (PhD), a member of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, is a health researcher at the University of Saskatchewan, joining the Department of Community Health & Epidemiology in 2017. He serves as the Scientific Director of SCPOR, the Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research, and he also continues to teach and research in Indigenous health, with a particular focus on wellness and engagement.

From 2009 to 2016, Dr. King led the CIHR Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health as its Scientific Director, spearheading the development of a national health research agenda aimed at improving wellness and achieving health equity for First Nations People, Métis and Inuit in Canada. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the Royal Society of Canada.

The Honourable Roy Romanow is a Senior Policy Fellow in the Department of Political Studies at the Univesrity of Saskatchewan. He is the former Premier of Saskatchewan, Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Saskatchewan, an Officer of the Order of Canada and a recipient of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit.

Mr. Romanow spent three decades in Saskatchewan and Canadian politics. After holding the position of premier from 1991 to 2001, he served as the provincial chair—with Jean Chrétien being the federal counterpart—on the Constitution Act 1982 negotiations. He also led the second Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, and was a member of the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC), among many additional accomplishments.

Eric Cline served in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as the New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of the Legislative Assembly for Saskatoon Idylwyld from 1991 to 1995, Saskatoon Mount Royal from 1995 to 2003, and Saskatoon Massey Place 2003 to 2007. He was a senior cabinet minister in the governments of Roy Romanow and Lorne Calvert. Appointed to Cabinet in November 1995, he had responsibility for a number of portfolios including Health, Labour, Finance, Justice, and Industry and Resources. 

After leaving politics, he returned to work in the private sector in Saskatoon, as a corporate lawyer and and senior execuitve in the mining sector, and remained active as a volunteer serving on many commuinty and industry boards. In 2020, he earned the designation Qualified Arbitrator from the Alternate Dispute Resolution Institute of Canada.

Dr. Michael Nickerson (PhD) received his BSc (Honors; Marine Biology), MSc (Food Chemistry) and PhD (Food Chemistry) from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Currently, he is a Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Research Chair in Protein Quality and Utilization, and Professor and Acting Department Head in the Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan.

Michael's research area focuses on improving the use of plant protein ingredients within the food industry, with 180+ internationally peer reviewed publications. He has been working on plant proteins for the past 17 years, examining fractionation, flavour reduction strategies, functionality and ingredient modification via processing and plant-based foods. He works with primarily proteins from pulses, oilseeds and grains, as well as some other alternative protein sources.

Dr. Jack Zhang (PhD) is the Associate Vice-President, Strategic Technologies, Mining and Minerals, at the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC). He has over 20 years of extensive industrial, engineering, operation and research experience. His main areas of focus include the processing of rare earth, uranium, potash and phosphate, rare metals, lithium, industrial minerals, as well as tailings, mine water, and effluent treatment. At SRC, he has led and supervised numerous mineral processing, metallurgical testing, optimization and research and development projects for global clients.

Dr. John Root (PhD) is the Executive Director of the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation at the University of Sakatchewan. Before joining USask, he served as a Research Officer with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, then as Director of the Canadian Neutron Beam Centre in Chalk River Ontario.

In 2011, Dr. Root was invited to establish the Fedoruk Centre at USask with the goal of placing Saskatchewan among global leaders of nuclear research, development and training. Since 2017, he has served as its Executive Director, helping to deliver impacts in three key areas: (1) nuclear imaging tools and methods to advance life sciences and medicine; (2) material sciences through nuclear methods to improve energy, health, and transportation; and (3) understanding the practical and social aspects of nuclear energy, to inform decision-making towards a clean, sustainable future.

Dr. Anurag Saxena (PhD) is Professor and Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education, at the College of Medicine. In addition to his clinical, administrative, and teaching responsibilities, he is engaged in studying leadership in medical education and healthcare systems. He has extensive experience in leadership, governance and management including influencing change, developing and implementing policy and strategy.

Dr. Saxena has received many awards for teaching, including the Master Teacher Award from the University of Saskatchewan, has numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals, and has held external peer-reviewed research grants in cancer and heart disease. His current research interests and scholarly work are in the field of leadership, ranging from praxis, leadership development, and systems-thinking to societal changes. He has been studying international medical graduates in Saskatchewan and will supply the government with a list of recommendations on how to make it easier for these grads to become doctors in the province.

Dr. Andrew Van Kessel (PhD) is Professor in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science, College of Agriculture and Bioresources and Director of Research at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan. He is a member of the board of directors of Prairie Swine Centre and member of the board and chair of the Science Advisory Board for Swine Innovation Porc, an organization funded by the swine industry to lead Canada’s national research strategy.

As a researher, Dr. Van Kessel has established gnotobiotic models in swine and poultry to investigate the host/microbial interface and the role of the gut microbiota in contributing to gastrointestinal health, including the discovery and evaluation of antibiotic alternatives.