A veteran of Albertan agricultural research has been named the next dean of the faculty of agricultural, life and environmental sciences at the University of Alberta.
Stan Blade, currently chief executive officer of Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions, will assume his new role Aug. 1, replacing John Kennelly, who will remain in the department after a decade as dean.
“My role is to build on this remarkably functioning organization and maybe bring forward some new and different ideas on how we engage with industry, our community, and society at large,” said Blade.
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The ag faculty will celebrate its centenary in 2015, and Blade said he’s excited about the possibilities in the next 100 years because of the department’s wide range of expertise.
“It’s everything from water to biodiversity, to sustainable production, to nutrition and food security and climate change,” he said. “We have expertise in these areas, not only the technical expertise, but also people who understand the context for the issues that Alberta faces, and that Canada faces, but in many cases what the world is facing.”
Blade grew up in Leduc County near Millet, earned his bachelor of science at U of A along with a PhD at McGill, and his international experience includes working as a volunteer teacher in Cameroon and studying as a Commonwealth scholar in sub-Saharan Africa.
“I was a farm kid who always had a fascination with science and all of a sudden, it just became obvious to me, especially after my time in Cameroon, that there was a nice connection between research and the biological basis of agriculture and just all of those things come together, and how they now come together in a faculty like ALES,” he said.
The department has 120 faculty positions, 1,600 undergrad students, and more than 500 graduate students.
Blade has also worked as a research scientist for the province, including breeding pea crop cultivars and serving as director of Alberta’s Crop Diversification Division, prior to heading Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions.
