Dr. Wade Deisman has joined UFV’s College of the Arts as the new Associate Dean of Social Sciences.

Wade brings a wealth of experience to his new role, including six years as an Associate Dean at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU). He moved to Vancouver in 2008 to join KPU as a faculty member, and was elected Chair of the Department of Criminology soon after. In 2016, he was appointed Associate Dean in KPU’s Faculty of Arts, a role in which he was unanimously reappointed in 2019. During his tenure, Wade led several strategic initiatives, including the development of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program in collaboration with Kwìkwèxwelhp Healing Village in Agassiz. He was also recognized with a team engagement award for outstanding leadership during the pandemic. 

“Wade is a passionate academic and educator who brings significant leadership and administrative experience to UFV,” says Dr. Sylvie Murray, Dean of the College of Arts. “His dedication to student engagement and innovative program development is well recognized.” 

Before his time at KPU, Wade held his first academic appointment at the University of Ottawa, where he served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology. He was also the inaugural director of the National Security Working Group, a newly established initiative at the time. 

Most recently, Wade was the Director of Academic Programs at the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC), where he also served as Chair of the Program Council Curriculum Committee, Vice-Chair of the Research Ethics Board, and spearheaded the development of a master’s degree in Intelligence Studies. He also revitalized JIBC’s research activities, securing $1.36 million in grants. 

Wade is enthusiastic about joining UFV, an institution renowned for providing robust research opportunities to its students. 

“I have long admired UFV’s great capacity for innovation and have been especially inspired by the bedrock efforts of the College of Arts to create a critically grounded understanding of and appreciation for the central role of the liberal arts in education,” he says. “I am excited about working with Dr. Murray and the rest of her simply superlative team.” 

Wade holds a PhD in Sociology from Carleton University, where his interdisciplinary research focused on child safety in cyberspace, addressing the issue from policy, law, communications, and criminological perspectives. During his doctoral studies, he was recruited by the Law Commission of Canada to work on critical issues of policing, terrorism, and national security. 

Over his career, he has authored more than 25 peer-reviewed publications, including a co-edited volume on national security that explores the cross-Canada impact and implications of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.  

 Wade began his new role at UFV on August 19.