Richard Dixon

Richard Dixon

Academic Coordinator, Organizational Business

Contact information

Email: rdixon@athabascau.ca

Phone:

Richard Dixon specializes in regulation, professional regulators, strategic management and foresight, ethics, and energy research, with practical experience in government, profit, and non-profit fields.

He is the Co-Chair of the Management Department and Academic Co-ordinator at Athabasca University’s Faculty of Business. At Athabasca University, he co-led the development and taught North America’s first AI-powered virtual co-op. He was the 2024 recipient of the Craig Cunningham Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence at Athabasca University.

Richard was the first Chief of Strategic Foresight in the Alberta Energy Regulator. He provided Executive and Board members with strategic decision-making knowledge, intelligence, and foresight. Previously, Professor Dixon was the Centre for Applied Business Research in Energy and the Environment’s (CABREE) first Executive Director and Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta. He taught graduate students, conducted extensive media commentary on energy issues and led many energy studies. Before this role, Richard led the Strategic Intelligence Unit in Alberta Environment, identified emerging energy and environmental issues and developed strategic responses for the Ministry and Government of Alberta. He co-chaired the Emissions Trading Project in the Alberta government, which won the Premier’s Gold Award of Excellence. The Project was the basis for developing North America’s first mandatory carbon tax. Richard is working on another degree, a Ph.D. in Strategic Management and Ethics, from Walden University. His thesis focuses on significant changes impacting Canadian professions and professional regulators.

Research interests

  • regulation
  • professional regulators
  • strategic management and foresight
  • ethics
  • energy and environment
  • AI in education

Educational credentials

  • Ph.D. pending (ABD), Walden University
  • MBA, Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy, University of Alberta
  • M.Div. Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon

Professional affiliations

  • Association for Strategic Planning
  • World Futures Society
  • Association of Professional Futurists