Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Julian Dierkes to the position of Associate Dean, Funding, effective January 1, 2018. He is taking over from Dr. Janice Eng, who completed her term in December. We are extraordinary grateful to Dr. Eng for the exceptional competence, collegiality, and commitment she brought to this important role over the past three years.
Dr. Dierkes is Associate Professor and Keidanren Chair in Japanese Research in UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. After completing a PhD in Sociology from Princeton University, and a fellowship at the University of Cambridge, he came to the UBC Institute of Asian Research in 2002. His current research is focused mainly on Mongolia, particularly its democratization and political development and mining policy. He teaches in the Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs, and previously served as the graduate advisor for the Master of Arts in Asia Pacific Policy Studies (which won a Larkin Award during his tenure there). Dr. Dierkes is also a very engaged scholar, and among other contributions, he was Project Lead for the Canadian International Resources and Development Institute’s IMAGinE Mongolia project, is Vice-President of the American Center for Mongolian Studies, and is a frequent blogger, writer, and consultant on matters related to Mongolia. He tweets @jdierkes.
With his appointment as Associate Dean, Funding, Dr. Dierkes will be responsible for providing academic leadership in the area of graduate student funding, including overseeing policy, adjudication, and decision-making for centrally-administered awards and scholarships, liaising with external agencies and donors, promoting student success in award competitions, and supporting programs in their responsibilities related to student financial support. Significant focuses will include oversight of the recent additional $8M student funding programs, and graduate program support related to the new PhD funding guarantee policy.
We warmly welcome Dr. Dierkes to this position, and thank him for his commitment to the university’s mission towards outstanding graduate education and the support of our students.