UCalgary strengthens commitment to inclusive, caring and sustainable campus with new director appointments

The University of Calgary is taking an important step forward in advancing the institutional commitments at the heart of Ahead of Tomorrow, its strategic plan. The Office of Institutional Commitments (OIC), which strives to build an inclusive, caring and sustainable UCalgary community, has appointed three directors to help lead this work: Drs. Jennifer Thannhauser, Andrea Rowe and Kerry Black.

"These appointments demonstrate a continued focus on building a university culture where every member of the community can thrive,” says Dr. Andrew Szeto, PhD, executive director of the OIC.

“Our three directors provide the OIC with a solid foundation that will foster collaboration and drive meaningful impact at UCalgary, signalling both an integrated approach to our work, as well as defined work in our commitment areas.”

The new directors will provide scholarly and operational leadership, strengthen university-wide collaboration, and help drive progress across UCalgary’s institutional commitments. 

Meet OIC’s new directors 

Dr. Jennifer Thannhauser, PhD’12 (academic director, Mental Health and Well-Being)

Thannhauser’s work in counselling psychology and tri-agency-funded research on post-secondary well-being positions her well to lead initiatives that support healthy and compassionate university cultures. Having spent 12 years counselling students, Thannhauser developed a deep understanding of the student experience and sees a growing appreciation and need for a broader institutional systems approach to supporting and enhancing mental health and well-being across the university.

“We’ve made progress in de‑stigmatizing mental illnesses and expanding supports for individuals,” she says. “Now we must focus on structures, policies and culture. If faculty and staff are not well, students cannot be well. Addressing workload, burnout and institutional barriers are essential to creating a culture of care. Creativity and innovation emerge when we are all thriving.”

Dr. Andrea Rowe, PhD (director, Purpose and Impact)

Rowe brings deep cross-sectoral expertise in equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, public policy, and innovation, with a focus on using evidence-based approaches to create systems and environments where everyone can succeed. Rowe’s work contributed to the creation of the OIC in 2024. 

“Taking on this new role at Canada’s entrepreneurial university is an exciting opportunity to create systems designed to address pressing social, economic and environmental challenges that directly impact student and campus experience,” says Rowe. “My commitment is to work with students, faculty and staff at UCalgary to advance their priorities, combine lived experiences with evidence‑based research to build systems, policies and practices that make UCalgary both a cutting‑edge research institution and a great place to live, work and study.” 

Dr. Kerry Black, PhD (academic director, Sustainability) 

An internationally recognized researcher in sustainable infrastructure and community resilience, Black will help guide UCalgary’s efforts to embed sustainability across research, teaching and operations. Black is an associate professor in the Schulich School of Engineering and a Canada Research Chair in Engineering Sustainable Communities.  

“There are initiatives happening at every level,” she says. “We need to bring more people into the conversation and champion new approaches in tackling tough problems. Historically, this work can get really siloed or put in one place. This is about connecting all of us, our broad university community to what we all care about and are actively doing. The whole campus should see itself in this work.”

A shared vision

The leadership and cross‑functional team at the OIC takes a holistic approach, aiming to engage a wider portion of the UCalgary community, connect and scale work across faculties and units, and maximize impact by integrating the three commitment areas where they intersect.

“There is so much good work being done in these areas across UCalgary — like the research coming out of a lab, or the advocacy of a student group,” says Szeto. “Our office has the opportunity and responsibility to amplify these efforts because we know it matters and because there is so much care behind them.

“Now, more than ever, it’s important for us to connect to one another and forward values-driven initiatives. At the end of the day, our relationships to ourselves, to others and to the planet are of utmost importance. As my colleague, Kerry Black, says, ‘Why else are we here?’”