Faculty and Staff

As an interdisciplinary program, the Human Resources and Labour Relations program draws on a variety of professors and tutors from across the university.

Core Faculty

The core human resource and labour relations faculty are:

Dr. Bob Barnetson is an associate professor of labour relations and also director of the Human Resources and Labour Relations program. He has taught for Athabasca University since 2004 and previously worked for a trade union, the Alberta Labour Relations Board and the Alberta Workers' Compensation Board. Bob's research interests include workplace injury and child labour.

Jason Foster is an academic coordinator of industrial relations and joined Athabasca University in 2001. Jason holds an MA in Labour Studies from McMaster University. He was previously the Director of Policy Analysis with the Alberta Federation of Labour.

Dr. Bruce Spencer is a professor of labour relations. Bruce joined Athabasca University in 1990 after previously working at the University of Leeds and for the Workers' Educational Association in the United Kingdom. Bruce's research interests are in adult education, workers' education, labour unions, particularly workplace union organization, and workplace learning.

Affiliated Faculty

Dr. Donica Belisle, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of Women's Studies and has taught at Athabasca University since 2004. With Dr. Jeff Taylor she recently co-authored History 336: The History of Canadian Labour. She is also the current coordinator for SOCI/WMST 345: Women and Work in Canada. Dr. Belisle has authored a book and several articles in Canadian retail, consumer, and gender history, including two articles on the history of Canadian retail employment.

Dr. Steve Boddington is the coordinator of the undergraduate education program at AU and has a particular interest in the history of education and educational foundations. He first worked for AU as a tutor.

Dr. John Bratton is Adjunct Professor of Labour Relations at Athabasca University and a Visiting Professor at Edinburgh Napier University Business School in Scotland. His research interests and publications have focused on the sociology of work, leadership and workplace learning. John is a member of the editorial board of Leadership, Journal of Workplace Learning and the Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education. He is also the author of Japanization of Work: Managerial Studies in the 1990s (1992) and co-author of: Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice (5th Ed. forthcoming); Workplace Learning: A Critical Introduction (2003); Organizational Leadership (2004); Capitalism and Classical Sociological Theory (2009); and Work and Organizational Behaviour (2nd edition) (2010).

Dr. Paul Kellogg is an assistant professor in the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies and teaches in the Work, Organization and Leadership stream of the Master of Arts – Integrated Studies Program. He previously taught at Trent University (Department of International Development Studies) and Ryerson University (Department of Politics and School of Public Administration). His research interests centre on "the Global Workplace," including labour organization, political economy (international and Canadian), and social movements, with a particular focus on Latin America and the Caribbean.

Dr. Ingo Schmidt is an academic coordinator in labour studies and joined Athabasca University in 2007. Previously, he worked at a variety of universities in Canada and Germany as well as in the German trade union movement. His past research has focused on trade unions in Germany, European integration and international political economy.

Teaching Staff

The HRLR program draws heavily upon the teaching and professional experience of our teaching staff. Among the tutors and academic experts students typically encounter in courses related to their HRLR program are:

John Anderson, (B.A. (Hons.), M.A., LL.B.) joined Athabasca University in 1988 and presently tutors various legal studies courses. A practicing lawyer, John has taught for the University of Lethbridge in Calgary, Grant MacEwan College, Mount Royal College, Columbia College, and has taught courses and assessed students for the Bar Admission program.

Yessy Byl (B.A., LL.B.) was a labour lawyer for 25 years in private practice and on staff for unions. She is currently the northern Alberta educator for the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre and sits as a nominee on arbitration boards. Yessy is very involved in Temporary Foreign Worker issues in Alberta the Edmonton Community Legal Centre.

Ursule Critoph teaches at the graduate and undergraduate level in the areas of work and learning. Ursule has a long history of working with unions and multipartite organizations focused on labour market and training public policy, with a particular emphasis on the needs of women and other disadvantaged groups.

Dan DiMarco (B.Comm., MBA) ) spent more than 30 years in various private- and public-sector HR shops. He presently teaches for both AU (recruitment and selection and employment law) and previously taught for the University of Lethbridge (human resource management).

Holly Dougall (MA) has been with AU since 2001, she has worked in advertising, manufacturing and educational sectors and tutors HRMT/ORGB 386 and HRMT/ORGB 387. Current research interests include corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

Tara Gibb (MA, PhD candidate) has extensive adult literacy experience; an adult education specialist, Tara is active within the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education. Current research interests include basic skills in the workplace and work and learning.

Lois Hameister (B.A., B.Ed., MBA) teaches courses in public sector labour relations, occupational health and safety and human resource management. Lois also works as a project manager, instructional designer and editor for the provincial government.

Dr. Doug Knight has taught organizational behaviour and human resource management for AU and the University of Alberta for over 15 years. Previously, Doug has worked as a superintendent of schools and the Executive Director for the University of Alberta's Government Studies and the City-Region Studies Centre.

Brenda Kuzio (B.A., LL.B.) joined Athabasca University in 2000 and presently teaches grievance arbitration, collective bargaining and labour law courses. Brenda currently has an active labour law practice and has been practicing since Jan 2000. Prior, she was a director of the largest union in the province of Alberta. In that role she was largely responsible for grievance arbitrations as well as collective bargaining.

Evelyn Lien has been working as a tutor for Athabasca University since 1989. She currently tutors HRMT/ORGB 386 and HRMT/ORGB387, and is a marker/academic expert for ORGB300, ORGB326, and ORGB364 for the School of Business.

Jean-anne Moors (MA, MIR) joined Athabasca in 2010 after a career that has included time labour relations work with the Canada Industrial Relations Board, the Ontario Ministry of Labour and the National Ballet of Canada. Previously, Jean-anne taught at the University of Calgary. Jean-anne presently teaches HRMT 326: Wages and Benefits.

Nand Narine (MBA) has been tutoring HRMT/ORGB 386 and HRMT/ORGB 387 for a number of years. He has extensive public sector employment experience.

Dr. Collette Oseen has taught with AU for a number of years at the graduate and undergraduate level and has research interests in non-traditional, non-hierarchical organizational structures and women in the workplace.

Garry Ramsay joined AU in 2008 and teaches courses in Human Resource Management. Garry has a Master's degree in Industrial Relations from Queen's University and has extensive experience working with both public- and private-sector unions.

Dr. Eric Strikwerda joined Athabasca University in 2007. A historian by training, he current teaches courses in industrial relations, labour studies, Canadian working-class history, and western Canadian history.

Dr. Michael Welton taught courses in adult education theory and practice at Dalhousie University in Halifax, and Mount St. Vincent before tutoring for AU. His wide variety of research interests includes work and learning and his most recent book is Designing the just learning society: A critical inquiry.

Student & Academic Services - Last Updated October 16, 2012