Respected academic and scholar Dr. Jerome Cranston is working within the system he seeks to change, combatting systemic racism and advancing opportunities for historically marginalized communities in the academic world. His commitment to addressing social inequity and championing diversity has earned him recognition as the University of Lethbridge Alumni Association’s (ULAA) 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient.
“Dr. Cranston’s work and humanitarian efforts have taken him around the world as he seeks to give voices to those who have historically been silenced,” says Cyndi Crane (BMus ’95, MEd ’01), ULAA president. “His graduate studies at ULethbridge laid the foundation for the important research he has continued throughout his academic career as he has sought to make significant and lasting change in post-secondary education and beyond.”
Cranston will be recognized at Let There Be Light Night, a celebration of alumni achievement, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at 7 p.m. in the Science Commons Atrium. Tickets are currently available online.
Dr. Jerome Cranston
Dr. Jerome Cranston (MEd ’98) is a respected educational leader and renowned scholar whose career has been defined by an unwavering commitment to equity, inclusion and systemic change.
A proud graduate of the University of Lethbridge’s Master of Education in Educational Leadership program, Cranston now serves as Vice-Provost of Students and Learning at the University of Saskatchewan, where he brings a student-centred approach to every facet of his work. Driven by a belief that education can be a powerful force for justice, Cranston has built a career focused on dismantling systemic racism and advancing opportunities for historically marginalized communities in academic spaces and beyond.
In 2013, he was credentialed as an academic observer for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Two years later, his ethnographic work, which focused on stories of Rwandan teachers who survived the 1994 genocide, earned him recognition from the American Educational Research Association’s Peace Education Special Interest Group. His research and humanitarian efforts have taken him to refugee camps to work with displaced Syrians in Lebanon and Bhutanese refugees in Nepal, and he has worked closely with Indigenous and tribal communities in Canada and internationally.
Cranston has travelled widely as a speaker, consulted with school boards and public institutions and mentored the next generation of scholars on the topics of systemic racism and social inequity. During his time as dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina, he created the first Black and racialized student group at the institution, creating a safe space for students to connect and be mentored by scholars. With five books, more than 50 scholarly and professional publications and more than $350,000 in research and teaching grants, his contributions to academic discourse are extensive. In 2022, he was recognized with an Alumni Honour Award from the University of Alberta, where he completed his Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Science degrees.
Most recently, his 2023 book, Half-caste: Decidedly Brown in a Black or White World, offers a deeply personal exploration of identity, belonging and racialization. His vulnerability opens the door for readers to reflect on their social positioning and engage in the difficult conversations that lead to action.
A true changemaker in Canadian post-secondary education, Cranston continues to use his voice, research and leadership to make academia a welcoming space for all.