Joël Dickinson, PhD
Dr. Joël Dickinson was appointed President and Vice-Chancellor of Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) on July 1, 2022.
Before joining MSVU, Dr. Dickinson was Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Laurentian University and also held the positions of Acting Associate Vice-President of Teaching and Learning (2020-2021), and Chair of the university’s Department of Psychology.
Throughout her career, she has been focused on the impacts of decisions on students, as well as meaningful collaboration with faculty and staff colleagues. She has held a leadership role with the Laurentian University Sexuality and Gender Diversity Committee, and was a long-standing member of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Status of Women. She also served as an ex officio member of the Laurentian University Native Education Council, through which she has had the honour of learning from the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nations People.
Born and raised in New Brunswick, the traditional unceded territory of the Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) and Mi’kmaq Peoples, she continues to learn the history, traditions, and ways of knowing of these and other cultures as they contribute to the extended community and to her personal growth.
She has previously taught at the University of New Brunswick and Mount Allison University. Dr. Dickinson holds a Psychology Honours, Bachelor of Arts, and PhD in Psychology from the University of New Brunswick.
She is a full professor of Psychology with a research focus in cognitive processing during schema violations. She has experience in development and training for diversity and inclusion workshops. She has a successful teaching and research career, winning the Laurentian University Teaching Excellence award in 2016. She was also the Principal Investigator of the Cognitive Health Research Laboratory, a CFI funded lab.
She is an active community volunteer and has worked with many non-profit organizations and advisory boards, including the Women in Cognitive Science Canada Advisory Committee and Réseau Access Network. She currently serves as a Director on the Board of 211 Nova Scotia.
Throughout her career she has demonstrated her commitment to engaging with faculty, staff, students and the local community and continues to be an advocate for those overcoming situations of adversity to succeed.
Dr. Dickinson is active on Instagram— her handle is @PresD_MSVU
If you wish to speak with Dr. Dickinson, please contact president.office@msvu.ca.