Indira Samarasekera Explained

Indira Samarasekera
12th President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Alberta
Term Start:1 July 2005
Term End:30 June 2015
Predecessor:Roderick D. Fraser
Successor:David Turpin
Birth Date:11 April 1952
Birth Place:Colombo, Sri Lanka
Alma Mater:University of Sri Lanka
University of California, Davis
University of British Columbia
Spouse:Sam Samarasekera
Salary: (2015)
(2016)
(2017)
Module:
Embed:yes
Fields:Metalurgy
Workplaces:
Thesis Title:Thermal distortion of continuous casting moulds
Thesis Url:https://www.proquest.com/docview/303084780/
Thesis Year:1980

Indira Vasanti Samarasekera [1] (née Arulpragasam; April 11, 1952)[2] is the former president and former vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta.[3] [4] She has been a member of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, which advises on appointments to the Senate of Canada, since 2016.

Biography

Samarasekera was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, of Sri Lankan Tamil descent, and was married to a Sinhalese,[5] Sam Samarasekera and was divorced when her children were 7 and 3 years.[6]

Education and career

Samarasekera received her B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sri Lanka in 1974 and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis as a Fulbright Scholar in 1976.[7] In 1977, she immigrated to Canada, where she received her PhD in Metallurgical Engineering at the University of British Columbia in 1980. That year, she began working in the Department of Metals and Materials Engineering at UBC with a focus on the continuous casting and hot rolling of steel.[8] She was only the second woman appointed to the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Engineering.[9]

In 2000, she was appointed UBC's vice-president of research. During her time in that role, the university's research funding from government, private donors and industry more than doubled, from $149 million to $377 million.

She succeeded Roderick Fraser as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta on July 1, 2005, and served two terms, ending June 30, 2015. She was the first female president of any university in Alberta.

As of July 1, 2015, she was succeeded by David Turpin as president of the University of Alberta.

Awards and honorary degrees

In 1991, Samarasekera was awarded NSERC's the E.W.R. Steacie Fellowship, an award that recognizes promising young Canadian researchers.[10] In 2002, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2012, she received Canada's Public Policy Forum Peter Lougheed award for leadership in public policy,[11] and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.[12] In 2014, she was named a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Engineering.[13]

Samarasekera has received honorary degrees from the University of British Columbia,[14] University of Toronto,[15] the University of Waterloo,[16] Queen's University Belfast,[17] Université de Montréal[18] and the University of Western Ontario.[19]

In 2018 Samarasekera was awarded the Bessemer Gold Medal by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, an annual honour named after Sir Henry Bessemer awarded for outstanding services to the steel industry.[20]

Board and committee service

Samarasekera was appointed to the board of directors for Scotiabank in 2008,[21] and for Magna International in 2014.[22] She was appointed chair of the Worldwide Universities Network in 2012,[23] serves on the CEO of the Year Advisory Committee[24] and has served as both board member and chair of the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT).

Samarasekera is on the board of directors of TC Energy, owner of the Keystone Pipeline, appointed in 2016.[25] She has served as a member of Canada's Science, Technology and Innovation Council (STIC),[26] the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee on the Public Service,[27] the Conference Board of Canada[28] and the Public Policy Forum.

From 2010 to 2012, she attended the World Economic Forum in Davos and has participated as either a speaker or a moderator.

Public profile

In July 2009, the University of Alberta purchased Samarasekera's private residence for $930,000, representing approximately $180,000 profit for Samarasekera, and the home was renovated by the university.[29] University administration was criticized by some for the initiative, given budget shortfalls at the time. Brian Heidecker, chair of the University of Alberta's Board of Governors, said the purchase gave the university a strategic advantage, noting that the residence would serve as a strong inducement when recruiting future presidents. Samarasekera continues to live at the home and pays rent based on fair market value.

In an interview with the Edmonton Journal on October 21, 2009,[30] Samarasekera raised her concerns regarding the fact that 58% of university undergraduates in Canada were female. She commented, "I'm going to be an advocate for young white men, because I can be. No one is going to question me when I say we have a problem", and "We'll wake up in 20 years and we will not have the benefit of enough male talent at the heads of companies and elsewhere." A group of students responded by putting up posters satirizing her comments.[31] Campus Security took down the posters within 24 hours and warned the students responsible of possible disciplinary action."[32] Samaraskera responded by noting that she appreciated satire as a form of freedom of speech, but hoped that such debate be held in a cordial and respectable manner.

In the wake of deep government cuts to the cuts to the Alberta post-secondary sector in 2013, debate ensued on and off campus as to how the university should respond.[33] Samarasekara undertook to limit her international travel. However, when personally invited by Alberta Premier Alison Redford, she traveled to China in September 2013 at a cost of $13,800. Responding to criticism, Samarasekara stated "people will find reasons to criticize me whichever way I do it."[34]

Sources

Notes and References

  1. middle name according to LCNAF CIP data
  2. Web site: Globecampus.ca ~ Trading in her hard hat to lead an institution . 2010-10-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101024011816/http://globecampus.ca/in-the-news/article/trading-in-her-hard-hat-to-lead-an-institution/ . 2010-10-24 .
  3. Web site: Tribute . www.island.lk/ . April 7, 2013.
  4. Web site: Congrats to Dr. Indira Samarasekera . www.sangam.org . June 17, 2004 . April 7, 2013.
  5. News: Who is Dr. Indira Samarasekera?. 9 April 2013. South Asia Mail.
  6. Web site: INDIRA SAMARASEKERA ON BUILDING A CAREER OF FIRSTS . /www.womenofinfluence.ca . Shelley White . 1 September 2016 . 11 August 2017.
  7. Web site: Canada's education system: 'a gift beyond compare'. cic.gc.ca. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121202015032/http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/celebrate/citweek-samarasekera.asp. 2012-12-02.
  8. Web site: Congrats to Dr. Indira Samarasekera - Sangam.org. sangam.org.
  9. Web site: Office of the President. walrusmagazine.com.
  10. Web site: NSERC - E.W.R. Steacie - About the Award. 28 June 2016.
  11. Web site: Article - University of Alberta. ualberta.ca. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121002183658/http://www.news.ualberta.ca/article.aspx?id=85A45CF181244EF39AB67257DFBB5B0F. 2012-10-02.
  12. Web site: FOLIO - University of Alberta . 2013-01-03 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140106182618/http://www.folio.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?v=104208&i=104293&a=5 . 2014-01-06 .
  13. Web site: U of A president to be honoured by prestigious U.S. engineering academy. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140419192932/http://www.edmontonjournal.com/president+honoured+prestigious+engineering+academy/9478727/story.html. 2014-04-19.
  14. Web site: B.C. Entrepreneur and Mystery Writer Among Those with UBC Honorary Degrees - UBC Public Affairs . 2012-10-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140724234857/http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/media/releases/2006/mr-06-040.html . 2014-07-24 .
  15. Web site: Meet honorary grad Indira Samarasekera . 2014-07-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140726055911/http://www.engineering.utoronto.ca/About/Engineering_in_the_News/Meet_honorary_grad_Indira_Samarasekera.htm . 2014-07-26 .
  16. Web site: [UW-News-Release] Waterloo will award 16 honorary degrees at spring convocation]. uwaterloo.ca. https://web.archive.org/web/20140726053513/http://lists.uwaterloo.ca/pipermail/uw-news-release/2010-April/001042.html. 2014-07-26. dead.
  17. Web site: Queen's University Belfast: Centenary, 1908 - 2008 . 2012-10-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140222150314/http://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/centenary/HonoraryGraduates/DrIndiraSamarasekera/ . 2014-02-22 .
  18. Web site: Personnalit茅s : Collations des grades. umontreal.ca. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140222043506/http://www.collation.umontreal.ca/doctorats-honoris-causa/personnalites/?tx_stperson_pi1%5Bperson%5D=95&tx_stperson_pi1%5Baction%5D=show&tx_stperson_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=Person&cHash=c769424039f6c433a979490936a1705d. 2014-02-22.
  19. Web site: Western News - Search. Department of Communications and Public Affairs, Western University. Western News. 23 July 2018 .
  20. Web site: IOM3 Awards 2018 IOM3 . www.iom3.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180512185750/http://www.iom3.org/iom3-awards-2018 . 2018-05-12.
  21. Web site: Scotiabank - Indira V. Samarasekera . www.scotiabank.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080908043311/http://www.scotiabank.com/cda/content/0,1608,CID12292_LIDen,00.html . 2008-09-08.
  22. Web site: Press Release - Magna Announces 2014 Annual Meeting Results. magna.com.
  23. Web site: Home. Worldwide Universities Network.
  24. Web site: Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year™. ceoaward.ca.
  25. Web site: TC Energy Governance.
  26. Web site: Membership. Strategic Policy Sector. stic-csti.ca.
  27. Web site: Prime Minister's Advisory Committee on the Public Service - Prime Minister Harper establishes Advisory Committee on the Public Service: News Release - Clerk of the Privy Council. Clerk of the Privy Council.
  28. Web site: Board of Directors. conferenceboard.ca.
  29. Web site: U of A buys president's house for $930,000. Edmonton. 5 August 2010.
  30. Web site: The male minority. The Globe and Mail.
  31. Web site: Alberta students protest 'femimenace'. https://archive.today/20120709065433/http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2009/11/03/11615366-sun.html. usurped. July 9, 2012. Canoe inc.. canoe.ca.
  32. Web site: Office of the President. thewalrus.ca. 12 September 2010.
  33. News: Deeper cuts still to come at U of A; Larger classes, fewer programs, layoffs loom in budget crunch . Sheila . Pratt . https://archive.today/20130916024317/http://www2.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=bc4f8109-14ef-4e8c-b84f-5a8aac8cfdba . dead . September 16, 2013 . Edmonton Journal . August 24, 2013 . A1 . September 15, 2013.
  34. Web site: University of Alberta president speaks about $13,800 China trip. Metro.