He will later assume the role of director of the Regina campus, succeeding one of JSGS’s founding faculty members, Ken Rasmussen, who will be going on sabbatical on January 1, 2021.
Farney, who has spent the past nine years at the U of R, currently serves as the head of the Department of Politics and International Studies. Before moving to Regina, he held appointments at Queen’s University.
“Dr. Farney is an accomplished university leader, scholar, and teacher,” says Loleen Berdahl, JSGS’s newly appointed executive director. “His commitment to research excellence, faculty mentorship, and the student experience will enrich the School as we move forward to train Canada’s next generation of policy practitioners. We are fortunate to have him join the Johnson Shoyama community.”
With a PhD from the University of Toronto and an MA and BA from the University of Saskatchewan, he has published and taught on themes such as political parties, education policy, Canadian politics, and institutional change.
Farney is the author of Social Conservatism and Party Politics in Canada and the United States and co-editor of Conservatism in Canada and Open Federalism Revisited (forthcoming). A co-investigator in the SSHRC funded Comparative Education Policy Network, he has just finished a book manuscript examining how different Canadian provinces fund and regulate religious and independent schools.
He’s looking forward to continuing research work on the governance and outcomes of school choice and will also be co-editing a book with JSGS’ Loleen Berdahl, Ken Rasmussen and Dale Eisler regarding the upcoming 2020 Saskatchewan Election.
“I’m excited to join the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy,” says Farney. “The School is unique in how it combines the knowledge of practitioners with academic research into a suite of accessible professional programs.”
“We have never needed strong policy making more and it is an honour to be joining the school as Director at such a time. I’m looking forward to working with and learning from both the members of the team at the School, its external partners, and its friends and alumni."