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By rdnewsNOW Staff

IMPROVING COMPETITIVENESS

Alberta appoints four members to post-secondary review panel

Dec 18, 2024 | 10:37 AM

The province has appointed four members to a panel led by Dr. Jack Mintz that has been tasked with assessing the competitiveness of Alberta’s post-secondary education system.

The government announced the panel on Nov. 7, and it will assess key aspects of the post-secondary system to ensure it can compete globally for talent and investment in innovation.

The four new members were appointed to the panel by Advanced Education Minister Rajan Sawhney and include Charlene Butler, Dr. Ray Block, Joan Hertz and Peter MacKinnon.

“When we consider the current challenges facing Alberta’s post-secondary learning system, such as population growth and changes to federal policies, it’s clear that we can benefit from a long-term vision on funding and competitiveness,” said Minister Sawhney. “The members of the post-secondary funding review panel have an impressive depth of experience in the post-secondary space and are well-equipped to assess and explore ways of ensuring and sustaining Alberta’s post-secondary excellence.”

Alberta officials say each of the members have “extensive” experience in high-level executive and administrative roles at many of the province’s post-secondary institutions, in addition to membership on public boards, advisory councils and community organizations. They also bring diverse perspectives, with backgrounds in economics, law, commerce, agriculture, health care, sciences and arts.

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The panel’s mandate includes exploring funding models for higher education across Canada and around the world, assessing the impacts of federal immigration policies on Alberta’s post-secondary institutions, and examining the administrative and regulatory burden of the system.

“Post-secondary institutions are critical to Alberta,” said Dr. Mintz, chair of the panel and president’s fellow at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. “They train young people with valuable skills and conduct vital research that benefits society and the economy. We must ensure excellence in our post-secondary system, and the expert panel will be looking at ways to make sure that taxpayer dollars are well spent well towards outcomes.”

“We look forward to hearing from Albertans on what they would like to see achieved by a vibrant post-secondary education sector,” added Mintz.

The panel is expected to engage with public post-secondary institutions and independent academic institutions, beginning early next year. A comprehensive review of its findings is expected later in 2025.

More information on the panel members can be found here.