Facilities provides the following services to support the university’s mission: facilities planning, projects (renovations, infrastructure, new construction), grounds, maintenance and property management.
Academic Quality Assurance and Accreditation (AQuAA) was formed in September 2009. In June 2013, AQuAA and Institutional Research and Planning amalgamate into a single department called Institutional Analysis and Planning (IAP).
Institutional Analysis & Planning's (IAP) core activities center on gathering data, interpreting and accurately reporting data from multiple sources, supporting academic initiatives of the institution, and contributing to strategic planning initiatives. The gathering of information manifests primarily in surveys, environmental scans and the mining of data warehouses.
Selected by The Alberta Colleges Commission, the Board of Governors of Edmonton College held its first meeting on April 29, 1970. Chaired by Barry Moore, membership also included Winnifred Ferguson, Robert Guebert, Fred Kurylo, and Edward Stack. Early priorities included changing the name of the institution, and on July 15, 1970 it was agreed that the Honourable Dr. J. W. Grant MacEwan be selected as namesake. The Board also identified the intent of the College as a community college that would not focus on university transfer, which set it apart from other Alberta institutions. It subsequently hired the first president, John L. Haar, who accepted the Board's offer on October 16, 1970.
The Board of Governors of Grant MacEwan University is a corporation, as set out in the Alberta Post-Secondary Learning Act. As the senior authority for the University, the Board is accountable to the Minister of Advanced Education and ultimately, the people of Alberta. The Board manages and operates the University within its approved mandate, establishing policies to govern the affairs of the University. On an annual basis, the Board submits a Comprehensive Institutional Plan and Audited Financial Statements to the Minister.
The first student government was elected on October 8, 1971. Composed of two committees, one each from the Cromdale and Old Scona campuses, it was incorporated under the existing provincial legislation as a legal entity. A revised copy of the students’ union constitution was recorded in the Board of Governors meeting minutes from April 12, 1972 (appendix A).
The Students’ Association of MacEwan University (SAMU) is a non-profit organization working independently from MacEwan University, and is governed by elected student representatives. Students’ Council is the highest governing body within the Association. It is comprised of 14 Councillors, one Alberta College Campus delegate, and five Executive Committee members.
The Musical Theatre diploma appears for the first time in the 1976-1977 academic calendar. In the 1978-1979 calendar, it appears as the Theatre Arts program with an option for a Technical Diploma. The department was housed at the Jasper Place / Centre for the Arts and Communications campus from 1981 until campus closure in 2017, when it moved to Allard Hall at City Centre Campus. At that time part of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications, the department consisted of two diploma programs: Theatre Arts, and Theatre Production. In 2022, it became part of the Bachelor of Fine Arts with the two majors Music Theatre Performance and Theatre Production.
The nursing program began on February 2, 1972 when it was approved in correspondence from the Committee on Nursing Education of the Universities Coordinating Council from a proposal submitted by Nursing Chair Dr. George Monckton. Seventy-four students were admitted for the first class in September, 1972, and in April, 1974, the Occupational Health Nursing Program with given approval to operate with 32 students enrolled. To increase the opportunities for educational advancement of Registered Psychiatric Nurses, a supplementary program leading to a general nursing diploma was approved in May, 1974, and admitted 9 students. In July, 1975, the department was reorganized and enlarged under a new name: Health Sciences Department. The basic nursing program then admitted 80 students in September and 30 in January, 1975. Its first degree, the Bachelor of Science in Nursing was first offered in September, 2007. The Faculty of Nursing was created July 1, 2016.
The title Provost and Vice-President, Academic has undergone a number of name changes over the years:
Vice President Academic (ca. 1988-2003)
Executive Vice-President Academic (2004-2007)
Provost and Executive Vice-President Academic (2007-2012)
Vice-President, Academic and Provost (2013-2014)
Provost and Vice-President, Academic (2014-)
The Provost and Vice-President, Academic is responsible for promoting a culture of academic excellence at MacEwan University and maintaining the University’s reputation as a student-focused institution. The position is head of Academic Affairs.
The association was formed in winter 2015 by the President's Group Task Team and the Retired Staff Seed Group as part of the University's retiree engagement strategy. Its intention was to continue retiree relationships with the University and one another, and was created as an umbrella group for all categories of retired employees: faculty, staff, out-of-scope, and administration. On May 28, 2015, the Board of Governors approved the name “Retirees of MacEwan University” and on March 19, 2019, the structure was formalized with the approval of the bylaws by the association's Leadership Group.
Named for the former Lieutenant Governor and mayor of Calgary, Grant MacEwan Community College was established in Edmonton, Alberta in 1971. In 1999 it was renamed Grant MacEwan College, and on September 24, 2009 became Grant MacEwan University.
The Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre (URDC) is an endowed institution within MacEwan University. It was created as a project development centre, operating through internal partnerships with faculties and external relationships with other universities in Canada. It was formally established and recognized on April 21, 1988 when the Board of Governors of Grant MacEwan Community College passed a motion officially establishing URDC as a component of the College. As an established centre within the institution, the director of URDC was in direct contact with MacEwan Vice-Presidents and faculty Deans, allowing for a high degree of transparency and communication. The URDC offices were initially located at the Jasper Place Campus, and later moved to the City Centre Campus.
In the years between 1987-1991, the URDC worked in the local community to bolster the arts, music, languages, business, and agriculture, focusing its efforts on developing the Ukrainian community within Canada’s borders as part of a broader national movement towards multiculturalism. This focus shifted in 1991 when the collapse of the Soviet Union brought on renewed interest from Ukrainian Canadians in returning to and developing Ukraine. Today, the Centre engages in initiatives that promote community development and intercultural dialogue. Through provincial, national and international projects, they link MacEwan to universities in Ukraine and to academic and cultural centres that are devoted to Ukraine, in Canada and abroad.
The Ukrainian Foundation for College Education (UFCE) was established in 1994 to raise, manage, and donate funds for URDC projects and programs. Its efforts have resulted in partnerships between MacEwan University and universities in Ukraine and Eastern Europe such as KyivMohyla Academy (NaUKMA), Ternopil State Medical University (TSMU), and the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU). In addition, decade-long partnerships were established with the International Institute of Business (IIB) and the Institute of Special Pedagogy (ISP) of the National Academy of Pedagogical (now Educational) Sciences.