A Canadian leader in social justice and Indigenous law issues will lead Thompson Rivers University’s Faculty of Law. Bradford Morse will commence his duties as the Dean of Law during the fall of 2014. “I am excited that we have attracted such an excellent legal scholar and experienced academic administrator. Dean Morse’s work has been highly influential with respect to a number of important legal issues,” said Alan Shaver, TRU President and Vice-Chancellor. “We are pleased to welcome him to Kamloops and look forward to his leadership as we continue to develop TRU’s Faculty of Law.”

Brad Morse will join the TRU Faculty of Law as dean in the Fall of 2014.

Once on campus Dean Morse will seek to build mutually beneficial partnerships with the legal community throughout BC, assist the Faculty in developing student internships and legal assistance clinics, initiate establishing positive relationships with foreign law schools and help encourage a belief among First Nations and Métis peoples that TRU is their law school.

Dean Morse joins TRU after serving five years as Dean and Professor of Law at Te Piringa – Faculty of Law at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. There he recruited many of the staff and lead its achieving global recognition to be ranked in the top 100 law schools in the world in 2013. Prior to his experience in New Zealand he was Professor of Law in the Faculty of Law, served as Vice-Dean and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Ottawa.

As a professor Morse has taught a wide variety of courses concerning Canadian and comparative Indigenous law issues, as well as labour law, trusts, property and civil liberties. He has been directly involved in the establishment of Aboriginal legal services programs and child welfare agencies, as well as in land claims, environmental disputes, constitutional, treaty and self-government negotiations, economic development projects, legislative drafting and other Aboriginal government matters. He has also served as counsel in litigation on Aboriginal and treaty rights as well as an expert witness before numerous parliamentary and legislative committees and administrative tribunals.

From 1988 to 1991, Dean Morse was the director of Research and Planning for the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba. He served as executive assistant to the Honourable Ronald A. Irwin, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, from late 1993 until early 1997, and was intimately involved in all aspects of the Minister’s and the Department’s responsibilities concerning First Nations as well as the North. He has also served as Chief Federal Negotiator on several Canadian land claims. He has been a consultant to various royal commissions, government departments and Indigenous peoples’ organizations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

He has authored over 100 articles, books, book chapters and commission reports. He holds a BA from Rutgers University, LLB from the UBC Faculty of Law, and LLM from Osgoode Hall, York University. He has been a Barrister-at-Law and Solicitor with the Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario) since 1979.

For media inquiries please contact:
Alan Shaver
President and Vice-Chancellor
Thompson Rivers University
Phone:  250-828-5001
Email:  president@tru.ca