Malaspina's new Dean of Education receives Distinguished Service Award

Dr. Harry Janzen, Malaspina University-College’s new Dean of Education, has received a prestigious award recognizing his leadership and contribution to public education in the K-12 system over the past 35 years.

Janzen was recently presented with a Distinguished Service Award by his former peer group, the BC School Superintendent’s Association (BCSSA). The award is presented each year to selected BCSSA members who have made an exemplary contribution to the association and to public education in BC.

"The K-12 system's loss is higher education's gain," said BCSSA president Geoff Jopson.

Before joining Malaspina in January, Janzen's long and successful career included serving as superintendent of schools in Port Alberni for 10 years.  He was an active member of the BCSSA, and served as president in 2005-06.  

“On behalf of Malaspina, I’d like to congratulate Harry on receiving this significant award,” said Malaspina President Dr. Ralph Nilson. “Harry comes to Malaspina with a wealth of knowledge and skills from his former job as a superintendent of schools. As a member of the BC School Superintendent’s Association, he earned a reputation of being a dynamic leader among leaders and an excellent team builder . He’s a welcome addition to Malaspina and as a leader of our Faculty of Education, I know he’ll take the Faculty  in a new and exciting direction.”

Janzen served as an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University for the past five years, where he taught Master’s courses in Educational Leadership. “Developing new teachers is vitally important work,” he said. “It's one of the main reasons I decided to join the Faculty of Education at Malaspina.”

With approximately 50 percent of BC principals and vice-principals expected to retire within the next five years, Janzen said there is an urgent need for new educational leadership.

“My hope is that Malaspina will begin offering its own Master’s program in Educational Leadership,” he said. “There’s a huge demand on Vancouver Island for this type of programming, a demand that’s mostly being met by universities in the U.S. I believe Malaspina is well positioned as a regional university-college to offer this kind of training."

Janzen’s first priority as Malaspina's new Dean of Education is leading the first ever institutional internal review process of the Education Faculty. The review will examine delivery models of programs and curriculum content. “Our employees are excited about this process,” he said. “There’s a lot of positive energy as we explore possibilities for a new look. Softening enrolments across BC have resulted in many post-secondary institutions reviewing what they are doing and how  they are doing it. At Malaspina, we’re taking a close look at operations and recruitment strategies because it's vitally important that we have a teacher training program that’s current and marketable.”

Feedback is being collected from faculty, students, graduates and stakeholders, such as Janzen’s former peer group, the BCSSA. An external review team will conduct its own evaluation of Malaspina’s Education program next fall. “They’ll look at recommendations from the internal review team, gather their own information and write an external review report which will be a public document,” explained Janzen. “The review will lead to informed changes that will be implemented over the next few years.”

Malaspina currently offers two pathways for aspiring teachers. Some students complete a four year degree, and take an additional one-and-a-half-years to complete a post-baccalaureate teacher training program. This route trains teachers for the elementary school system.

Students can also complete a concurrent degree program at Malaspina. They earn an Education degree and a degree in another discipline, such as English, Physical Education, Psychology and History at the same time.

One of Janzen’s concerns, however, is that teachers with majors in Math, Chemistry, Physics and French Immersion at the elementary level are in highest demand in BC. “In training new teachers, are we meeting the needs of the education system? That’s definitely one point we’ll be considering during the review."

Janzen’s other goals in his new role as Dean of Education include developing partnerships with school districts and helping to increase Malaspina’s profile regionally, provincially and nationally.

So far, what does Janzen enjoy most about his new job? "Contact with students," he said.  “It’s great to see how excited they are about becoming new teachers. They are forthright, honest and say what’s on their minds. There’s a lot of spirit."