Wayne Caldwell, director of the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, has been named as interim dean of the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) effective Nov. 1.

The announcement was made today by Charlotte Yates, provost and vice-president (academic).

“Professor Caldwell brings valuable leadership experience to this new role, which will be important as OAC enters into a period of leadership transition,” Yates says.

OAC Dean Rob Gordon is leaving U of G to become vice-president (research) at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont.

A search for a new OAC dean is expected to begin in the coming weeks. Information will be posted on the Provost’s website.

A U of G professor since 2000, Caldwell studies farmland preservation, rural conflict resolution, local governance, and community-based approaches to economic and environmental issues.

He headed a federally funded project to help municipalities cope with economic decline and wrote a handbook on landowners’ responsibilities for water quality preservation. Caldwell served as president of the Association of Canadian University Planning Programs and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute.