Dean's office

Dean

Biography

Dr. Nazim Cicek was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the University of Manitoba on January 1, 2026. He is also a Professional Engineer and Professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering. Nazim received his M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering in 1995 and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering in 1999 from the University of Cincinnati, OH.

After working briefly in industry, Nazim returned to academia and joined the Department of Biosystems Engineering in 2001. He served his department in associate and acting head roles, before taking on the role of Associate Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences in July 2021. During this time, Nazim worked closely with partner organizations, industry stakeholders, donor relations, funding agencies, and academics to advance the Faculty’s research mission and deliver on its strategic priorities.

Nazim’s personal research and teaching interests span agricultural and industrial waste management, bioenergy and bio-polymer production, and bioprocess engineering. Nazim has authored or co-authored over 140 peer-reviewed journal articles and presented his research in numerous international conferences. He has supervised 13 Ph.D. students, 24 M.Sc. students, 35 B.Sc. thesis students. Over the last 24 years, Nazim has secured nearly $14.5M in external research funding as principal investigator or co-principal investigator.

Faculty Annual Reports

2024-2025 (PDF)

2023-2024 (PDF)

Associate deans

Support staff

Ajibola Akindipe
Human Resources Officer and EDI Coordinator
ajibola.akindipe@umanitoba.ca		 
Lindsey Andronak
Recruitment and Student Experience Coordinator
lindsey.andronak@umanitoba.ca
204-480-1488		 
Dr. Chantal Bassett
Research Facilitator
On leave		 
Jason Bourcier
Operations Manager, Glenlea Research Station
jason.bourcier@umanitoba.ca
204-712-6000
  • Facilitate/lead station-related instructional activities around farm safety, feed processing, and crop, dairy, swine and poultry production.
  • Maintain poultry flock, dairy and swine herds to support research and applied learning opportunities
Kate Cummings
Manager, Farm and Food Discovery Centre
kate.cummings@umanitoba.ca
204-883-2524		 
Peter Frohlich
Research Development Coordinator
peter.frohlich@umanitoba.ca
204-474-7337
  • Promotes research activities for projects associated with the National Center for Livestock and the Environment (NCLE)
  • Builds interdisciplinary research, education and outreach partnerships between FAFS NCLE, governments, producers and livestock industry stakeholders
  • Coordinates activities for the annual Sustainability of Canadian Agriculture Conference
Crystal Jorgenson
Communications Specialist
crystal.jorgenson@umanitoba.ca
204-474-9435
  • Website content management
  • AG e-news and UM Today stories
  • Communications/promotions support (photography, graphics, logos, print materials)
  • Media relations and social media
  • Special event management
  • Email distribution lists (MailMan)
Holly Klann
Experiential Learning & Coop Coordinator
holly.klann@umanitoba.ca
204-474-8605
  • Facilitates the operations of the Co-operative Education Program
  • Communicates with, and assists industry, government agencies, students, and the University community, on matters related to student recruitment, cooperative education and job opportunities
  • Develops and oversees the Student and Alumni, and Employer newsletters
  • Attends to requests from employers for room bookings for interviews, information sessions, and other events
  • Supports instructors in establishing work-integrated learning (WIL) placements, promotes Experiential Learning (EL) courses to FAFS students
Amy Knodel
Assistant Grant Facilitator
amy.knodel@umanitoba.ca		 
Mya Kraft
Confidential Assistant to the Dean
mya.kraft@umanitoba.ca
204-474-9395
  • Tenure and promotion process
  • Annual activity reports
  • Committee support: Faculty Council, Faculty Executive, Tenure/Promotion and head searches
Garret Munch
Assistant Grant Facilitator
garretmunch@gmail.com		 
Vanessa Ryplanski
Budget Officer
vanessa.ryplanski@umanitoba.ca
204-474-6027		 
John Schoffner
IT Coordinator
john.schoffner@umanitoba.ca
204-474-9670
  • Active Directory administration
  • Workstation and software support
  • Physical network management
  • IT asset tracking
Rachel Sydor
Confidential Assistant to the Associate Dean (Academic Programs)
rachel.sydor@umanitoba.ca
204-474-6026
  • LASH committee resource
  • Call for nominations for awards
  • New faculty/graduate student/sessional/TA/GM orientation
  • Annual increment forms (academic and non-academic)
  • Dean's office EPIC orders
  • Endowment fund committee resource
Heather Wiebe
Confidential Assistant to the Associate Dean (Research)
heather.wiebe@umanitoba.ca
204-474-6029
  • FAAF and research funding applications
  • Research study/admin leave applications and reports
  • Faculty committees membership and nomination resource
  • Research committee resource
  • Faculty seminar series resource

Student services

Contact Us

Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences
256 - 66 Dafoe Road
University of Manitoba (Fort Garry campus)
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Canada

204-474-6026