Faculty of Arts

ARTSbuzz

July 1, 2011 | Greetings from the new Dean of Arts

Today marks the beginning of new transitions and I wanted to connect with you with some thoughts. Since I won’t officially assume the full responsibilities of Dean until August, I would like to begin by thanking Mark Lovewell for kindly agreeing to be Acting Dean for a month so that I can have a much needed break in July.

As I assume the reins today, I want to pause and provide greetings and a first look ahead.

Broad Shoulders
I begin by acknowledging the outstanding work of my predecessors, in particular Carla Cassidy for her truly transformative impact on this Faculty from 2001 to 2010, but also other deans who have served the Arts Faculty with distinction from the seventies to the nineties. It is due to their extraordinary service and dedication to this Faculty that today I have the privilege of starting with an extraordinary platform of excellence on which new dreams and aspirations can be built. I am humbled to stand on the broad shoulders of former Deans and honoured to follow in their footsteps in serving the Faculty of Arts. I hope I can live up to the expectations of the past and to the promise of the future.

Listening
While I have been wrapping up files and projects in my former position (up to last night!), I have been thinking about transitions and new beginnings for some weeks now. For example, on June 1st I formed a Blue Ribbon Panel of Faculty of Arts Leaders consisting of current, former, and incoming chairs and I am consulting with the management team (Associate Deans and MAC staff) in the Dean of Arts office. Recognizing the importance of our front-line staff and administration team supporting departments, programs, student engagement, labs, and IT, I have also launched a Faculty of Arts Administration Listening Tour where I hope to hear directly from our OPSEU staff. The tour involves open sessions where staff are invited to talk about "Building on Excellence" and exploring developmental opportunities. We have mapped three lunchtime sessions over the summer as follows: July 14th, July 19th, and August 3rd.  We will also provide some survey opportunities so I can hear from all staff directly.

Of course, I hope to talk to as many faculty members as well in the first 120 days of office and beyond. In addition to accepting invitations to your department meetings, I hope to engage with you one-on-one, and to receive your feedback on opinion surveys. You may even find me dropping by your office on one of my “fly bys” around Jorgenson Hall, Podium, 111 Gerrard, and 105 Bond. The point is that as I begin to map a new course that builds on tradition, supports the excellence we have created, and looks ahead with confidence, I welcome and value the input of all faculty and staff in our Faculty. Of course, there are challenges to examine and address, but I will be asking everyone to look a little further and build on the distinction of our Faculty with an eye for new directions and a positive can-do spirit. While I promise to work energetically to be a catalyst for ideas and innovations, I will also be asking you about what you can do for Arts. Everyone has something special to give.

Managing Expectations
While I think the Faculty of Arts can—and must—play a vital role in responding to the PSE growth needs in Ontario, my vision is not just about new growth, but about honoring the intellectual and scholarly traditions of our Faculty of Arts and about nurturing the unprecedented program development of the past 10 years. In other words, it is imperative that we look ahead but preserve our momentum and continue to meet the promises made to our students and programs. I hope you will join me in keeping a close eye on all of the various metrics that we use in the academy today to ensure that we are delivering the best. In all of this, we need each and everybody to work vigorously for the collective.

Ideas Factory
Some of you have heard me in recent weeks use the metaphor of changing the tune or the channel in that we don’t want the dean’s office to be a place where we just go to “ask for things” or debate “why things weren’t provided” etc. I think the office of the dean should be an ideas factory where we innovate and debate possibilities, inspire excellence, share accolades, reach higher, ignite collaborations, and yes, and solve problems. We have things to talk about and do: inspiring a world-class research agenda; designing smart research partnerships; raising funds; recruiting and retaining the best faculty, students, and staff; enhancing our infrastructure; reflecting city and community in our work; re-thinking the 21st century curriculum and classroom; supporting and building societally relevant programs; talking to other faculties and programs; reaching across the globe, and so much more. I am ready to put on my hard hat and work boots to engage with you in this ideas factory. I hope you are game.

Faculty Support and Thank You
Mark Lovewell will be available to support you this month along with our front office staff team: Gail Duffus, Andy Dy, Cynthia Dy, Sharmaine McKenzie, Kathryn Rowan, Sharon Ryder-Turner, and Jill Witherspoon. I am also grateful to Mark for everything he has done as Interim Dean for our Faculty of Arts this past year, always acting with aplomb and panache. In August, Mark will move to the Chang School in a new position that holds much promise and excitement.

As you know, our Associate Dean Philip Coppack’s 5-year term ended yesterday and he looks forward to a much deserved administrative leave starting today. I would like to thank Phil for his excellent work in supporting faculty, his meticulous data mining, and his uniquely tempered optimism! I will be reviewing the support structures in the Dean of Arts office and will proceed with a search for a replacement in a timely fashion. In the meantime, I will assume the research portfolio (an area that I am very passionate about) and will be in touch in a separate communication to faculty around granting opportunities. Of course, we also welcome back our Associate Dean Marcia Moshé who returns from an administrative leave with a full agenda of projects; she is excited to be back.  

I want to thank you for everything you do for this Faculty and I hope together we can raise the bar of excellence and have fun in the process. To our faculty, best of luck with your summer research at your Ryerson home and abroad, with your grants, your graduate supervisions, your writing, research and creative projects, and of course, enjoy some downtime with family and friends. To our staff, who are busy supporting faculty and students, building labs and computers, planning office moves, designing budgets and systems, and preparing for the big Fall program, I hope you will be able to enjoy some holidays this summer as well. Safe travels to all.

I will see you all later this summer as we begin a new journey and create what I hope will be a new ARTSbuzz.

Jean-Paul Boudreau
Dean of Arts