Announcement: New Dean of Augustana

I am pleased to announce that the Board of Governors has approved the appointment of Dr. Demetres P. Tryphonopoulos to the position of…

Image for Post
Dr. Demetres P. Tryphonopoulos

I am pleased to announce that the Board of Governors has approved the appointment of Dr. Demetres P. Tryphonopoulos to the position of Dean of Augustana Faculty and Executive Officer of Augustana Campus, effective July 1, 2019.

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Professor of English and Creative Writing at Brandon University since 2015, Dr. Tryphonopoulos comes to the University of Alberta with a breadth and depth of administrative experience gathered over a 30-year academic career in Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba. Under his leadership, Brandon University’s Faculty of Arts has significantly increased enrolment, with 30 percent growth over the past four years. In addition, Dr. Tryphonopoulos, whose own research record is outstanding, has strengthened the research culture of the faculty, resulting in marked increases in the number of successful SSHRC and other grants in the faculty as well as in citations of faculty members’ scholarly work. Prior to taking up the role of dean at Brandon University, Dr. Tryphonopoulos spent 25 years at the University of New Brunswick. From 1999 to 2015, he moved through several leadership roles as assistant, associate, and acting dean of the School of Graduate Studies (SGS). In his final term as acting dean, SGS, he participated, along with other Deans and team members in external relations and advancement, in the creation of UNB’s $110 million It Begins Here campaign, an institution-wide fundraising campaign, which has since exceeded its original goal.

Dr. Tryphonopoulos holds a PhD in English from Western University in London, Ontario. His area of research is 20th century American Literature with a focus on modernist texts, particularly (but not exclusively) on the work of Ezra Pound and H.D. The recipient of uninterrupted funding from SSHRC and other internal and external granting bodies for the past 30 years, he is the author, editor or co-editor of fifteen books and the author of numerous articles and book chapters. In addition to his own work, he cares deeply for the discipline and believes strongly in mentorship. He is a long-standing reviewer for SSHRC, the National Endowment for the Arts, and other granting agencies and continues to evaluate book and essay manuscripts for North American and European academic presses and journals. He currently serves on the editorial board of Paideuma: Modern and Contemporary Poetry and Poetics and as secretary of the Ezra Pound Society of North America.

Throughout his administrative service, Dr. Tryphonopoulos has remained a committed mentor and teacher, supervising dozens of graduate students and teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses. He says that his “greatest satisfaction in research has come from mentoring undergraduate and graduate students,” and he has always involved both groups of students in his research and publishing. He is also an enthusiastic promoter of interdisciplinary teaching and pedagogy across the university. Two current book projects, the MLA Approaches to Teaching Ezra Pound’s Poetry and Prose and Approaches to Teaching C.P. Cavafy’s Poetry, reflect his lifelong commitment to research as pedagogy.

Because of his experience at Brandon and UNB, Dr. Tryphonopoulos brings to Augustana a nuanced understanding of the opportunities and challenges of small, rural campuses. His open, collaborative, and transparent approach to leadership leads to strong partnership and collaboration across both academic and non-academic communities. He looks forward to building on the U of A’s and Augustana Campus’ profile and excellence, and advancing the strategic goals of For the Public Good.

My thanks to Augustana Faculty for its active and engaged participation in the selection process, and particularly to the members of the search committee: the successful conclusion of this search is due to their dedication, hard work, and thoughtful assessment of the Faculty’s needs.

Please join the members of the committee and me in welcoming Dr. Tryphonopoulos to the University of Alberta.

Steven Dew
Provost and Vice-President (Academic)