Staff Spotlight: Dr. Deanna Rexe

Assiniboine Community College was a familiar place when I came to serve as Vice President, Academic in 2016— I had been coming to the college as a consultant for about four years, and I was impressed with the opportunities ahead. I came with a passion for organizational transformation, for student access and success, and for Indigenous education. I was optimistic that I could make a contribution to the college with my background in community college leadership.

I hold a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Simon Fraser University, where I taught educational leadership in the Faculty of Education, and I continue to be Adjunct Professor and an affiliated scholar with the Centre for the Study of Educational Leadership and Policy.

My role as VP Academic involves overseeing the academic operations of the college, from programs to faculty to students. I’m proud of the work we do and delivering results to the communities we serve. Working with the people at Assiniboine is rewarding, as is the opportunity to make a difference in the community.

I started my post-secondary education as a mature student, and encourage others to consider investing in their education – it is never too late to start your own educational journey and to follow your career dreams.

I focus on relationships, and I strive to support excellence in others. Others would say I have high standards and value fairness. I seek out mentoring opportunities, and as both an educator and colleague, I really value supporting and celebrating others’ professional and personal successes and growth. I also really enjoy solving problems and supporting others’ creativity and innovation. The success of our students is the best reward of all. Graduation ceremonies are really the best part of the academic year!

A highlight of my work is seeing the outcomes from the hard work of our various teams. In 2021, we saw a $5.1 million investment from Manitoba in nurse education, the largest increase in funded seats that the college has seen in over 20 years. In January 2023, we were delighted with the announcement that Manitoba will invest $10 million to support the development of the Prairie Innovation Centre for Sustainable Agriculture. We have also been successful growing applied research at the college, with a total of $2.5 million in applied research grants in 2022.

I have really appreciated the opportunities for leadership development provided to me at work and as a volunteer. Since I was a student, I have been volunteering as a board member in community and professional organizations, including several early learning centres. These have been important developmental experiences. I continue to be involved in voluntary service, currently serving as a board member for the Canadian Society for Study Higher Education.

I was honoured by the Western Manitoba community to receive the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for Education in 2019. This award recognized professional leadership, commitment to excellence, influence and motivation of positive change, and the enhancement of lives of people in the community. This was such a touching recognition. My first significant job after graduating was working for a YWCA!

I have continued my research program since coming to Brandon. I was a faculty advisor on the National Taskforce on the Experience of Graduate Students with Disabilities, and continued my research on a series of funded projects. Our work on policies for students with disabilities, with my research assistant Olivia Auriat, received national attention and was featured in the Brandon Sun.

I have published on equity in apprenticeship for more than 20 years. Last year, my colleague at Assiniboine, Michael Cameron (Dean of Community Development), and I published an innovative case study in community-based access to apprenticeship, focussing on Indigenous education.

Most recently, I co-edited a new international volume Comparative Higher Education Politics: Policymaking in North America and Western Europe, which will be released by Springer’s Higher Education Dynamics series in April 2023. This book provides an overview of the state of the art of research on the politics of higher education policy in Canada, the US, and Western Europe. It is so exciting to see this project come to completion after seven years in development.

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is “embrace equity”. Canada’s community college system provides positive opportunities for individuals from equity-deserving groups to find supportive learning communities and meet employment goals.

I am committed to being a good ally and lifelong learning. Assiniboine’s equity, diversity and inclusion work is important to the communities we serve, and to us as educators in our professional practice.

The college’s approach to reconciliation was developed in the Indigenization Strategy, and continues to build momentum. We have seen an increase in Indigenous student participation and success, reflecting 1,164 students and 261 graduates in 2022. We have created new services, spaces, and visual identity on campus, and initiated cultural competency work, which is ongoing. At the request of Indigenous communities, we have launched new credit programs including Anishinaabe Financial Management, Restorative Justice, and Child Development Worker and there are exciting new Indigenization curriculum efforts currently underway.

International education is very important to Manitoba and to us as an organization. To meet Manitoba’s immigration and labour market needs, in 2017 we developed an Academic Framework for International Education Expansion and Success to cultivate a shared perspective and common goals on expansion of international activities at the college. Since then, there have been several years of faculty and staff professional development to support diverse learners in our classrooms. International student enrolment has increased from 188 to 678 between 2016 and 2022, with strong labour market outcomes.

In January 2023 I was honoured to receive the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (Manitoba), which had a strong focus on community mindedness, service, and reconciliation. It was a very proud moment for me, and for my family.