January 27, 2004 For Immediate Release

An experienced administrator and enthusiastic scholar has been appointed as the third Vice-President Academic and Provost at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Dr Howard Brunt is currently the Associate Vice-President for Research at the University of Victoria. He has been at UVic since 1990, first as a professor in the Nursing program, then as Associate Vice-President for the past six years. He has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Florida, associate degree in Nursing from the University of Vermont, a master’s in Nursing from Yale, and a PhD in Epidemiology (the study of the causes, distribution, and control of disease in populations) from the University of Calgary, where he was also an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Medicine and a professor in the Faculty of Nursing.

He will begin his 5-year term as UNBC Vice-President Academic and Provost on August 1, 2004.

“UNBC has wonderful faculty, students and staff , strong ties to the region, a special relationship with First Nations, and a beautiful and intimate campus environment. All of these factors have made this opportunity too good to pass up,” says Dr Brunt. “I’m coming with open eyes, open ears, and an open mind to UNBC’s challenges and opportunities. On one hand there are challenges around UNBC’s capacity to meet our region’s expectations for us to serve more students and to provide a wider variety of programs. On the other side, our already wide ranging academic and professional programs will now be complemented by the development of the Northern Medical Program. Such a comprehensive cluster of high quality and research-intensive program offerings in a smaller and relatively young university is truly unique. UNBC really is positioned for a bright future marked by steady growth and programmatic expansion, and that’s exciting.”

Dr Brunt is 53 and is moving to Prince George with his wife, Cynthia. Their daughter, Emmalee, is a first-year student at UVic.

The Vice-President Academic and Provost is the University’s academic leader. Dr Brunt succeeds Dr Deborah Poff, who has served for 10 years in the position. Dr Ken Coates was UNBC’s first Vice-President Academic.