Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences announces a new President-Elect and three new or re-elected Board members

News
March 4, 2014

OTTAWA, March 4, 2014 – The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences is pleased to announce two newly acclaimed and two newly elected members to its 13-member Board of Directors.

Elections ran from February 18, 2014 through 12:00 noon on March 4, 2014. The Federation thanks all those who nominated and voted, as well as those who ran as candidates in this election process.

“The Federation’s Board will benefit greatly from these four dedicated individuals, all of whom have demonstrated a passionate commitment to the wellbeing of our scholarly and research community, ” said Antonia Maioni, President of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. “They come to us not only with the most impressive of credentials, but with a keen commitment to post-secondary education both in Canada and internationally. They are sure to infuse our already active Board with new energy, new direction and new ideas.”

The four Board members are:

Stephen Toope was acclaimed as President and will serve as President-Elect until March 2015. He is President and Vice‐Chancellor at the University of British Columbia, former President of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and Dean of Law at McGill University, and former Law Clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada.  He publishes in leading international journals on international dispute resolution, international environmental law, human rights, the use of force, international legal theory, and international relations. 

Douglas Peers, Director, Development was acclaimed to hold a second term on the Board. Douglas is Dean of Arts and a Professor of History at University of Waterloo and former Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Associate Vice-President of Graduate Studies at York University. The author of two books and co‐editor of three collections, Douglas has published more than twenty articles and chapters on the intellectual, political, medical and cultural dimensions of 19th century India, with a particular interest in the impact that the military had upon the character of colonial rule.

Cindy Blackstock is the new Director of Equity and Diversity. A member of the Gitksan First Nation, Cindy has 25 years of social work experience in child protection and indigenous children’s rights. As Director of the First Nations Children’s Action Research and Education Service (FNCARES) at the University of Alberta, her research interests are indigenous theory and the identification and remediation of structural inequalities affecting First Nations children, youth and families. 

Fernand Gervais is the re-elected Director of Teaching and Learning. Fernand is currently the Associate Dean at the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at Laval University and also a Professor in Educational Psychology at the Faculty of Education since 1994. He teaches courses in learning and  cognition and his main research interests are in social cognition, situated  learning and networked  communities  of  practice.

The Federation would like to thank outgoing Board members: Graham Carr, Past-President, and Lynn Wells, Director of Equity and Diversity. “We have benefited immensely from the leadership and guidance received during their terms,” said the Federation’s Executive Director, Jean-Marc Mangin. “We are especially grateful to Past-President Graham Carr, who has been on our Board since 2008, for his dedication to the advancement of the Federation’s agenda during his tenure.”

Election results will be ratified by the current Board of Directors at their next meeting, on March 13, 2014. Newly elected Board members will attend their first meeting of the Board in Montreal, Quebec on March 27 and 29 on the campus of McGill University, held in conjunction with the Federation’s Annual General Meeting on March 28, 2014. 

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The Federation’s new Board of Directors

*Signifies new and acclaimed appointments

Antonia Maioni, McGill University, President

Stephen J. Toope*, University of British Columbia, President-Elect

Nadia Abu-Zahra, University of Ottawa

Cindy Blackstock*, University of Alberta

Anne-Marie Fortier, Université Laval

Fernand Gervais*, Université Laval

Gayle MacDonald, St. Thomas University

Dominique Marshall, Carleton University

Michael Owen, University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Douglas Peers*, University of Waterloo

Lisa Philipps, York University

Lyne Sauvageau, Université du Québec

Raymond Siemens, University of Victoria

 

Media inquiries:

Nicola Katz

Manager of Communications

Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

613-238-6112, ext. 351

nkatz@ideas-idees.ca