Joel Frey PhD, P.Eng.

Dr. Joel B. Frey joined the faculty of the College of Engineering in the Ron and Jane Graham School of Professional Development, with a joint appointment in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, in April 2019. He continues his work supporting the redesign of the college’s first-year undergraduate program, scheduled for launch in the 2020-21 academic year.

As curriculum developer, Dr. Frey has played a central role on the project team responsible for planning and implementing the program redesign. This innovative project will update and modernize the college’s first-year courses, shift assessment to a competency-based model, and provide more experiential learning opportunities for students.

Dr. Frey earned his PhD from the University of Saskatchewan in 2012. He also completed his B.E. (Electrical Engineering) and B.Sc. (Computer Science) at USask in 2004. During his time as a graduate student and post-doctoral research fellow, he served as a sessional lecturer in the College of Engineering in 2011 and 2012.

Dr. Frey is a registered professional engineer in Saskatchewan and practised as a consulting engineer in industrial power systems with Amec Fost Wheeler (now Wood PLC) between 2012 and 2017. During that time, he also launched Joel B Frey Consulting, providing leadership in stakeholder engagement and improving communication and teamwork through delivery of True Colors® Personal Success Seminars.

In 2017, Dr. Frey rejoined the college as first-year curriculum developer. Since that time, he has also been a sessional lecturer in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering. In his teaching, he focuses on forging connections with his students, seeing these inter-personal connections as a key way of helping students connect with course content.

Dr. Frey is an active member of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) and CEEA’s First Year Special Interest Group and also participates in the National Initiative on Capacity Building and Knowledge Creation for Engineering Leadership. In 2018, Dr. Frey was invited to join the University of Saskatchewan’s Buffalo Circle, as an ally of Indigenous Peoples of Canada.