Trinity Western University welcomes Dr. Shawna L. Nist as Dean of GLOBAL.
Trinity Western University is pleased to announce the appointment of Shawna L. Nist, PhD as Dean of GLOBAL, commencing August 1, 2022.
Dr. Nist brings 28 years of university leadership experience serving in administrative and faculty capacities within Christian institutions in Canada and the United States. She holds a PhD in Higher Education with an emphasis on organizational leadership from Azusa Pacific University, an MA in Leadership from Trinity Western University, and a BA in Christian Education from Briercrest College.
Awarded for strategic leadership
In 2021, Azusa Pacific University formally recognized Dr. Nist’s considerable contribution of strategic leadership in preparing faculty for remote teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic by granting her the APU Faculty Uncommon Citizen Award. She co-leads APU’s Designing Significant Leadership Experiences (DSLE) institute with the goal of supporting faculty in innovative course redesign and delivery. Dr. Nist's areas of expertise include leadership studies, gender and leadership, spiritual formation, teaching and learning, and conflict management.
Since 2017, Dr. Nist has been an Associate Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology at APU, where she teaches master's and PhD courses, designs curricula and serves on university committees and on the Faculty Senate. From 2009 to 2017, she was Assistant Professor and Director of Curricular Effectiveness, where she directed university student learning assessment efforts for 154 academic and 11 co-curricular programs, and assisted faculty in designing curriculum and measuring academic student learning outcomes.
Recognized for entrepreneurial success
In 2000, she founded the Canadian Christian College Tour and the Christian Higher Education Enrollment Association of Canada (CHEEA)—now merged with Christian Higher Education Canada (CHEC)—which brought together nearly 50 Christian institutions for the purpose of raising the profile of Christian higher education in Canada. The entrepreneurial founding of this organization garnered significant recognition for Shawna, and she was nominated twice for the Globe and Mail’s “Top 40, Under 40” leadership award and given full scholarship to pursue PhD studies.
A wealth of experience
Dr. Nist has exceptional knowledge of both TWU’s BA and MA Leadership programs. She is a 2002 graduate of TWU’s MA Leadership program. For the past nine years she has been an adjunct faculty member in the BA Leadership program where she developed and taught three online Leadership courses per year, and has twice been nominated for TWU’s Davis Teaching Award.
Bringing an 'innovative, collaborative and transformational servant approach'
With spiritual gifts and experience in leadership, teaching, and administration, Dr. Nist is well-prepared to advance TWU’s mission, vision and core values. As Provost W. Robert Wood notes, “Dr. Nist brings a wealth of experience to the role of Dean of GLOBAL at Trinity Western University. Her innovative, collaborative and transformational servant approach to leadership will be a natural fit in TWU GLOBAL.” He continues, “It is a joy for one of our graduates from the MA Leadership program to have spent the last 20 years maturing as a faculty member and academic leader, and then to return to the program ready to take TWU’s Leadership programs to the next level.”
A vision to 'foster academic excellence, faculty thriving, and student success'
As she looks forward to her upcoming role, Dr. Nist remarks, “I am thrilled to be named Trinity Western University's new Dean of GLOBAL. I recognize the significance of the Dean's role and my desire is to lead my colleagues and students with a servant's heart and God-honoring integrity in order to foster academic excellence, faculty thriving, and student success. My heart is full of gratitude as I join Canada's premier Christian university.”
With anticipation, President Mark Husbands expressed, “Dr. Nist’s impressive record of Christ-centered, student-focused innovative program and curricular design positions her well to contribute to the work of an existing cohort of talented, diligent, and Christ-centered Academic Deans. We are thrilled that Shawna has responded to God’s call to offer her gifts, expertise, and leadership here at Trinity Western University.”
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Shawna Nist as Dean of GLOBAL.
See also — TWU’s brand-new Robert G. Kuhn Centre is ready to welcome its first classes
TWU News
About TWU GLOBAL
TWU GLOBAL is the academic division in the University that provides leadership and support for emergent and innovative approaches to higher education. GLOBAL is an acronym that stands for: Global learning connections; Leadership programs; Online learning support; Branch campuses; Adult learning support; and Leading innovation.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier global Christian liberal arts university. We are dedicated to equipping students to discover meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. Drawing upon the riches of the Christian tradition, seeking to unite faith and reason through teaching and scholarship, Trinity Western University is a degree-granting research institution offering liberal arts and sciences as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.