Gary McNeely serves the Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition Coordinator at Brandon University and was involved in development and implementation of the PLAR Policy and Procedures in 2000. He was a past member on the CAPLA Board and looks forward to bringing his enthusiasm and experience to the membership over the next three years. He has also been a Board Member for the Manitoba Prior Learning Assessment Network (MPLAN) since 2000.
As PLAR Coordinator, his primary responsibility is to facilitate the assessment of prior learning attained by BU students, while working closely with faculty members serving as assessors. Since 2010, he has expanded his role to include the assessment of non-formal learning (certificates, coursework, and professional training) for academic credit. He acted in an unofficial capacity as a liaison with nearby CF Base Shilo and assisted in the assessment of military training completed by Canadian Forces personnel who enrol at BU. This became an official role in 2020 when BU signed an MOU with the Canadian Defence Academy. Recently, he assisted in the assessment of Transport Canada flight training provided at the Brandon Flight Centre and is endeavoring to assess certificates and training that align with industry sectors in Business Administration.
He earned a PhD in Philosophy from York University in 1995 and has delivered courses at Brandon University in Fine Arts, Philosophy and Communications since 1998. He was a Project Team Member, Editor and Grant Writer for the Rural Development Institute at Brandon University from 2009 to 2020. In this capacity, his research interests expanded to explore the intersection of PLAR and rural community and economic development, rural immigration, and rural policy. In an upcoming MITACS funded project focused on food security in Northern Indigenous communities, his goal is to examine how PLAR principles and practices can be a driver for community development and an instrument for acknowledging Indigenous practices and teachings.