Former Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations chief Blaine Favel has been appointed chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan.

Favel, who is currently the CEO of Calgary-based One Earth Oil and Gas, begins his new position July 1 replacing Vera Pezer.

The new chancellor says it will not be a difficult job promoting the U of S which already has a good track record in terms of producing successful Aboriginal graduates.

“Well, I think that they’ve got a really good track record to date as an institution,” he says. “If you look at the success of the Native law program, and virtually every Native lawyer in the country has gone through that program.”

Favel holds a bachelor of education degree from the U of S, a law degree from Queen’s University and a masters of business administration from Harvard University.

The position is a three-year term.