Dr. Patti McDougall
Deputy Provost
The Deputy Provost's role is pivotal in fulfilling the University Plan. Reporting to the provost and vice-president academic, and working in close partnership with the provosts' leadership team, the deputy provost fosters progress towards the five areas of impact to which we aspire: Transformative Decolonization Leading to Reconciliation, Productive Collaboration, Meaningful Impact, Distinguished Learners, Global Recognition; and optimizes policies, systems, and programs aligned with institutional priorities. A key focus is our current academic mission: to advance our academic role and aspirations.
Patti McDougall serves as deputy provost and is an associate professor of psychology.
Patti completed her undergraduate degree at Queen's University followed by a Masters of Applied Science at the University of Waterloo, and a Ph.D. in Human Learning, Development and Instruction at the University of British Columbia. She joined St. Thomas More College (federated with the University of Saskatchewan) in 1998 where she worked as a faculty member, assistant dean, associate dean, and interim dean.
Patti joined the University of Saskatchewan as vice provost of teaching and learning in 2013. Her portfolio broadened in 2014 to include operations and initiatives in teaching, learning, and student experience (TLSE). In her work as vice provost Patti had strategic and operational oversight of centrally organized activities involving the student learning and development cycle – pulling together the threads of teaching and learning, academic programming, student experience, and strategic enrolment management.
Patti began the role of Deputy Provost in the fall of 2021, shifting focus to the broader university landscape and the fulfillment of the University Plan aspirations. In addition to directly supporting the work of the Provost, Patti’s strategic areas of focus include, for example, microcredentials; education, diversity and inclusion; and the USask Sustainability Strategy.
As a developmental and educational psychologist, Patti's research follows two streams. She studies social relationships in childhood and adolescence including such topics as friendship and social status, with a particular focus on studying the long-term impact of bullying and victimization. Patti also investigates the domain of student experience where she examines youth-adult partnerships, the nature of the transition into university, students' educational goals, and factors that impact student retention. She has authored and co-authored articles appearing in American Psychologist, Sex Roles, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Social Development, International Journal of Behavioural Development, and Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, as well as writing for the Royal Society of Canada, among others.
Patti is the recipient of several STM and USask awards for her teaching expertise and her commitment to student experience.