Picture of Russell Isinger

Russell Isinger BA, MA

Associate Vice-Provost and University Registrar, Teaching, Learning, and Student Experience

Associate Member in Political Studies

Office
College Building E34

Research Area(s)

  • Canadian Defence Policy
  • Military and Strategic Studies
  • Canadian Government and Politics
  • International Relations
  • Weapons Acquisition Process

About me

Associate Vice-Provost and University Registrar, Teaching, Learning, and Student Experience, University of Saskatchewan, and

Professional Affiliate, Department of Political Studies, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan

Publications

Aerospace Air Power Allan Blakeney Aviation HIstory Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow Canadian Armed Forces Canadian Government Canadian Politics Defence Policy Foreign Policy International Relations Military History Military Procurement Military and Strategic Studies Prime Minister John Diefenbaker Royal Canadian Air Force United States Air Force Weapons Acquisition Process

Books and Theses

Back to Blakeney: Revitalizing the Democratic State, ed. David McGrane, Roy Romanow, John Whyte, and Russell Isinger (Regina: University of Regina Press, 2019).

“The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow Programme: Decisions And Determinants,” (MA thesis: University of Saskatchewan, 1997).

Chapters in Books and Conference Proceedings

“Hubris: The CF-105 Avro Arrow Program and the End of the Golden Age of the Royal Canadian Air Force,” (co-author Donald C. Story), in On the Wings of War and Peace: The RCAF during the Early Cold War, ed. Randal Wakelam, William March, and Peter Rayls (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2023), 107-127.

“The Avro Arrow,” in The Oxford Companion to Canadian History, ed. Gerald Hallowell (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2004), 57-8.

“The Plane Truth: The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow Program,” (co-author Donald C. Story), in The Diefenbaker Legacy.  Canadian Politics, Law and Society since 1957, ed. Donald C. Story and R. Bruce Shepard (Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre, 1998), 43-55.

“Flying Blind: The Politics Of The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow Programme,” in The Evolution of Air Power In Canada 1919 to the Present Day and Beyond.  Papers Presented at the 2nd Air Force Historical Conference, Volume II, ed. William A. March and Robert H. Thompson (Winnipeg: Department of National Defence, 1997), 102-13.

Articles in Journals and Magazines 

"Fly me to the moon," Green&White (Spring 2015): 16-17.

“Did the Canadian government make the right decision in February 1959 to cancel the Avro Arrow project,?" Legion Magazine (January/February 2014): 41.

"The Origins of the Cancellation of Canada's Avro CF-105 Arrow Fighter Program: A Failure of Strategy,” (co-author Donald C. Story), Journal of Strategic Studies 30, no. 6 (December 2007): 1025-50.

“Flying Blind: The Politics Of The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow Programme,” Western Canada Aviation Museum Aviation Review 22, no. 4 (December 1996), 23-30.

“Field Marshal Alexandr Suvorov, 1729-1800,” Military History 13, no.4 (October, 1996): 10, 22, 24-5.

“Paradigms Lost: German Federal and Electoral Solutions for Canada’s Constitutional Problems,” Constitutional Forum 6, no.2 (Winter, 1995): 61-70.

 “It’s A Wonderful Life, Canada,” Canadian Institute of International Affairs Institute Perspectives 6, no. 3 (June, 1992): 4-5.

Book Reviews

Review of Trevor Albertson, Winning Armageddon: Curtis LeMay and Strategic Air Command, 1948-1957, Canadian Military History 32, no. 2 (2023):30-33.

Review of Melvin J. Deaile, Always at War: Organizational Culture in Strategic Air Command, 1946-1962, Canadian Military History 28, no.2 (2019): 33-36.

Review of Frank Maas, The Price of Alliance: The Politics and Procurement of Leopard Tanks for Canada's NATO Brigade, Canadian Military History 28, no.1 (2019): 13-17.

Review of Megan Mackenzie, Beyond the Band of Brothers.  The US Military and the Myth that Women Can't Fight, Canadian Military History 27, no. 1 (2018): 20-24.

Review of Jason S. Ridler, Maestro of Science: Omond McKillop Solandt and Government Science in War and Hostile Peace, 1939-1956, Canadian Military History 26, no. 1 (2017): 9-12.

Review of Katherine C. Epstein, Torpedo.  Inventing the Military-Industrial Complex in the United States and Great Britain, Canadian Military History 25, no.2 (2016): 28-31.

Review of David Waechter, Flight Test.  The Avro Arrow and a Career in Aeronautical Engineering, Journal of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society 53, no. 2 (2015): 84-5.

Review of Bill Zuk, Janusz Zurakowski: Legend in the Skies, Canadian Historical Review 86, no. 3 (September 2005): 568-9.

Review of The Arrow. Avro CF-105 MK.1 Pilot's Operating Instructions and RCAF Testing/Basing Plans, Windsock 12, no. 8 (April 2000): 7.

Podcasts

“The Avro Arrow.  Parts 1 and 2.” Podcast, Curiously Canadian History, host David Borys, season 7, episodes 19/20, May 24, 2022/June 7, 2022.

Other Media

“Avrocar!  Saucer Secrets From The Past.“  Videotape Interview for Documentary (MidCanada Entertainment: Winnipeg, 2003).

“The Avro Arrow.”  CD-Rom textbook, Canada: Confederation to Present (Edmonton: Chinook Multimedia, Inc., 2001).

“Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow.” Museum multimedia database, National Aviation Museum, Ottawa (co-author, 1998).

“I Have Always Been A House Of Commons Man: Diefenbaker On The Hustings.” Museum exhibit, Diefenbaker-Canada Centre, University of Saskatchewan, 1994.

“The Arrow.” Museum exhibit, Diefenbaker-Canada Centre, University of Saskatchewan, 1993.

Public Lectures

"The Avro Arrow - and why Dief made the right decision," Presentation to the Canadian Aviation Historical Society 51st National Conference, Regina, June 7, 2014.

"Avro Arrow: The Myths, Controversies, and Beyond," Panel Discussion at the Diefenbaker Canada Centre, Saskatoon, November 20, 2013.

“The Avro Arrow,” Lecture to the Commercial Pilot Training Program, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Saskatoon, 2002, 2003.

"Three Questions About the Avro Arrow,” Lecture to the Ukrainian Museum of Canada, Saskatoon, September 12, 2003.

“The Avro Arrow Story,” Lecture to the Canadian Aviation Historical Society, Saskatoon, November 19, 1999.

“Government-Military Management of the Avro Arrow Project,” Speech to the Saskatoon Engineering Society Annual General Meeting Saskatoon, May 12, 1998.

“More Guts Than Brains: Political and Military Leadership During the Avro Arrow Project,” Lecture at the Diefenbaker Canada Centre, Saskatoon, December 3, 1997.

“The Avro Arrow Story,” Lecture to the Canadian Aviation Historical Society, Regina, January 9, 1997.

Teaching & Supervision

Canadian Government and Politics Defence Policy Foreign Policy International Relations Military and Strategic Studies United States Government and Politics

Political Studies 111.3 Democracy in North America (2003, 2006, 2008)

War and Peace in the 21st Century, Saskatoon Seniors for Continued Learning Inc., Extension Division (2006)

Political Studies 110.6 Introduction to Political Studies (2001-2002).

Political Studies 260.6, International Relations (2000-2003).

Canadian Government and Politics, Library and Information Technology Program (2001).

Research

Allan Blakeney Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow Canadian Armed Forces John Diefenbaker Royal Canadian Air Force United States Air Force airpower theory aviation history conflict studies defence policy military and strategic studies military history military technology war weapons acquisition process

Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow supersonic interceptor program, military technology, weapons system acquisition processes, Canadian and international military history and defence policy, airpower theory.

Education & Training

EDUCATION

MA, Department of Political Studies, University of Saskatchewan (1997).

BA Honours (High Honours), Department of Political Studies, University of Saskatchewan (1988).

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Level I Violence Threat Risk Assessment Training, Canadian Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response (2013)

Senior University Administrators Course, Centre for Higher Education Research and Development, University of Manitoba (2013).

Certificate in University and College Administration II, Centre for Higher Education Research and Development, University of Manitoba (2013).

Foundations of Administrative Justice: Practice and Procedures for Administrors and Decision-Makers in Post Secondary Educational Institutions (2012).

Certificate in University and College Administration I, Centre for Higher Education Research and Development, University of Manitoba (2009).

University Management Course, Centre for Higher Education Research and Development, University of Manitoba (2006).

Franklin Covey Leadership Program (2005).

PERSONAL MEMBERSHIPS

Canadian Aviation Historical Society.

Friends of the Canadian War Museum.

National Aviation Museum Society (Board Member, 2023-2025).

Royal Canadian Air Force Association.

Royal Canadian Legion, Dominion Branch.

ADMINISTRATIVE MEMBERSHIPS

Association of Registrars of Universities and Colleges of Canada (ARUCC).

Western Association of Registrars of Universities and Colleges of Canada (WARUCC)

Awards & Honours

  • Member of the Buffalo Circle, awarded by University of Saskatchewan May 2021
  • Jennifer Welsh Scholarly Writing Award, awarded by Saskatchewan Book Awards June 2020
  • Doug Favell Staff Spirit Award, awarded by University of Saskatchewan Students' Union March 2014