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President of Aurora College out in senior bureaucrat shuffle

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Caroline Cochrane speaks to members of the public on Thursday moments after election. Nick Pearce / NNSL Photo

A day before the legislative assembly returns to sit, Premier Caroline Cochrane has shuffled senior bureaucrats in the departments of Environment and Natural Resources and Education, Culture and Employment.

Andy Bevan will replace Tom Weegar in the education department as associate deputy minister, post-secondary education renewal and as president of Aurora College. Bevan — who is serving as assistant deputy minister, labour and income security — previously has served acting deputy minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, and as director of intergovernmental relations.

"The premier thanks Dr. Weegar for his work in helping to advance the transformation of the college into a polytechnic university and wishes him well in his future endeavours," a government news release stated.

Aurora College is slated to become a polytechnic by 2025 — a process Cochrane pushed for heavily as education minister in the previous assembly.

Erin Kelly, meanwhile, has been officially named as deputy minister of Environment and Natural Resources after serving in the role in an acting capacity. Kelly had taken a leading role in the creation of Thaidene Nene National Park Reserve. She has also been involved in the Giant Mine Remediation Project and negotiations on behalf of the Northwest Territories government on trans-boundary water and caribou management.