Thompson Rivers University
Dr. Brett Fairbairn is a distinguished academic and a passionate advocate for universities and higher education. His special interests include students and access, participatory governance, and community-university engagement. As a leader, he strives for strategic focus, relationship development, and a strong value system of integrity, respect and accountability.
A Rhodes Scholar and a Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Brett taught and conducted research in history, public policy, and interdisciplinary studies at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) for over 30 years before becoming president and vice-chancellor at TRU in December 2018. While at USask, Brett held increasingly senior leadership roles including as provost and vice-president academic. For his last five years at USask, he was a professor at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, teaching about ethical leadership in democracy and public service, social economy, and co-operatives in the new economy.
Brett’s academic work has focused on the history and interdisciplinary study of democracy, social movements, and co-operative enterprises in Canada and around the world, with a special focus on organizational governance. He has been supported through numerous grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. A strong believer in community-based research, Brett has more than 80 publications, which are a mix of scholarly and community-oriented writings. He has published on the history of German elections in the 19th and 20th centuries, on farmer movements in Western Canada, and on how governance and strategy in co-operative businesses can contribute to stronger communities and social cohesion. His most recent book, Risk and Relevance: The Transformation of Canada’s Co-operative Retailing System, was published by the Canadian Centre for the Study of Co-operatives in spring 2019. It is a study of organizational change, leadership, governance and strategy in Western Canada's retail co-operatives.
Brett completed a DPhil in Modern History at the University of Oxford. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Oxford (honours first class) and from the University of Saskatchewan.
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Thompson Rivers University
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is BC's newest provincial university. It was created in April 2005 when government granted full university status to the former The University College of the Cariboo (UCC), which was established in 1970 as a public post secondary institution. The new TRU has also assumed full responsibility for all courses and programs formerly offered by the BC Open University in Vancouver. With a progressive history as a Community and Technical College and, later, a University College, the new Thompson Rivers University has broad experience in addressing the needs of the community, the work-force and academe. TRU is a fully comprehensive university that offers recognized certificate (completion under 1 year), diploma (completion under 2 years) and full bachelor and masters degree in about 100 technical and academic areas. TRU's reputation for grounded, practical and applied methodology in preparing trainees for the "real-world" work-force is exemplary. As an institution and through its facility and officers, TRU has had collaboration with over 200 countries. Starting in the early 1980's with international education tours and student/staff exchanges, TRU now annually hosts over 800 students from around the world in full and part-time studies. Through its international Education Department, TRU is demonstrating an institutional commitment to initiating, coordinating and promoting collaborative partnerships with friendly countries. TRU is a full member of the Associations of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC).