Professor Janice Bland, who has been a valued member of the English Department since 2017, has retired as of February 1. Over her career, Prof. Bland made significant contributions to the field of English education, both nationally and internationally, through her teaching, research, and professional networks.

A celebration was held in Bodø to honor her career and accomplishments, marking the conclusion of her time with us at Nord University. After an introduction by Dr. Ken Hanssen (and a delightful Kaiser Wilhelm cake), Dr. Nayr Ibrahim gave a speech commemorating Prof. Bland’s many achievements over her career at Nord. In her speech, she remarked on Prof. Bland’s editorial work with the international CLELE Journal, CLELT (Nord Research Group for Children’s Literature in English Language Teaching), and her extensive publication record. Dr. Ibrahim also announced the recent formation of a new national network, ARCLEN (Association for Research on Children’s Literature in English in Norway), a network which Prof. Bland played a significant role in developing. 

In short, Prof. Bland’s many contributions played a notable part in “reinforcing the focus on the nexus between teaching language and teaching literature at Nord with an international perspective.”

A gift and flowers were presented by Dr. May Line Tverback, leader for the Language and Literature Section, on behalf of the faculty.

We wish Professor Bland all the best in this new chapter of her life.