All hail the new chief!

Even by the relentlessly upbeat standards of this wee blog, it is worth noting that every single member of the What's Up team wishes to express their delight at news that Professor Valerie Korinek has agreed to serve as the new Head of the Department of History. Many of you already know Valerie, who is a distinguished historian of women in Canada with many publications to her name, and a fine teacher and colleague. Valerie's three-year term began July 1, and she has already moved into the Big Office and rolled her metaphorical sleeves up.

Excellence starts at the top in the History Department, and Valerie's most immediate distinguished predecessor is Brett Fairbairn, an outstanding department head who left the seventh floor at the end of June to take on the more onerous and possibly almost as august post of
Provost and Vice-
President Academic of the whole shebang, in which capacity he more or less runs this university. And rightly so.

Obviously, historians should always be in charge of everything, and so it is especially fine to report that a historian finally is.

Especially seeing as how its Brett. Brett Fairbairn led us from strength to strength and left us in fine shape -- to the extent that he has left us. He may wear a suit more often, but he remains, of course, a Professor of History and a fully paid-up member of this department. For his past and future service and for our ongoing ties, we are most grateful.