Early this morning, AU held a press conference in Edmonton to announce the hiring of the next AU president.

As of June 2005, the President’s position will be filled by Dr. Frits Pannekoek, currently Director of Information Resources at the University of Calgary, with academic appointments in the Faculty of Communication and Culture and the Department of History.

Dr. Pannekoek has strong ties to AU and has established a direct connection with AU students as a tutor of AU history courses for nearly 20 years. During this time he has also authored textbooks used by AU students, and has developed several AU courses.

Pannekoek is positive about the future of AU: “Given the commitment of the Premier of Alberta and the Minister of Advanced Education to a strong and new investment in post-secondary education, this is a good time to arrive as the president of Canada’s fastest growing University … The challenge will be to ensure that Athabasca University’s success is better understood by all Albertans and that we continue to be seen as a world leader in all that we do-in teaching, in services to our students and in research.”

For more information on the new president, visit these links:

http://www.athabascau.ca/media/index.php?id=38
http://www.athabascau.ca/media/05/president_bio.php