Faculty of Arts

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Janet Lum as the Associate Dean of Arts, Research & Graduate Studies for a five-year term effective June 1st, 2012.

A professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration, Dr. Lum first joined Ryerson in 1996 and was tenured in 1999. As a seasoned faculty member, she brings experience, passion and enthusiasm to her new role. Along with a strong record of research achievement and graduate studies leadership, her dossier exhibits extensive skills in developing grants and research partnerships. 

Dr. Lum’s research is community-oriented, collaborative and multi-disciplinary, while focusing on key issues in health, community care and supportive housing. A special focus of her research concerns the aging experiences of diverse populations. In addition, she explores the public policies and processes that facilitate applicable, evidence-based outcomes. Her findings have been published in Canadian Journal of Respiratory Therapy, Canadian Public Administration, Healthcare Quarterly, Healthcare Papers, Hospital Quarterly and Health and Social Care in the Community. Committed to translating research into policy, Dr. Lum has also published her findings in Public Sector Digest and Policy Matters. Dr. Lum’s research integrates external partnerships and is committed to advanced student training.

For the past seven years, she has co-directed (with Dr. John Shields) the Master of Arts program in Public Policy and Administration—the first graduate program in public policy to achieve accreditation in the Canadian Association of Programs in Public Administration (CAPPA). One of the most highly regarded graduate public policy programs in Ontario and Canada, the program receives the most applications at Ryerson year after year. Dr. Lum’s experience in administration also extends to research partnerships, as she is currently lead of the Canadian Research Network for Care in the Community (www.crncc.ca), a SSHRC supported national and international consortium of over 500 academic and community researchers (including students, community organizations, professional providers, consumers and policy analysts).

Another skill to add to Dr. Lum’s portfolio is her experience with granting agencies in Canada. As a principle investigator, she has been awarded grants totaling over $1.2 million over her lifetime so far. As co-investigator, she has been an active member on a number of multi-year, multi-university projects that have generated over $5 million in funding. In addition to her tri-council funding (SSHRC, CIHR), she has received multi-year support from community funders including the Joint Centre of Excellence for Research in Immigration and Settlement; the Toronto Community Housing Corporation; and the United Way of Greater Toronto. The latter funding support led to her much-cited study on supportive housing for older people, “When Home is Community.” Moreover, she is co-investigator on the SSHRC study, “Policy Work in the Provinces: The 'Production' of Policy Analysis in Canada’s Public Services” and the CIHR study, “Approaches to Accountability in Health.” A tireless advocate for advancing the SRC of others, Lum holds a proud history of supporting and advising faculty in Arts on grant applications. Dr. Lum has served for three years on the national SSHRC adjudication committee for political science and public administration.  Since 2006, she has been a member of the Faculty of Arts SRC committee.

Reflecting on the appointment, Dr. Lum observes: “The Faculty of Arts is ramping upwards in scholarly research and creative activities. I’m excited about having the opportunity to play an active role on the Arts Team to enhance, strengthen and showcase the dynamic talent of our faculty and graduate students over the next years.”

I look forward to working with Janet on the Arts Executive team and on the Faculty of Arts Dean’s Council as we continue to enhance the Arts SRC profile and our grassroots support of researchers. Together we will develop and strengthen innovative graduate programming in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

I hope you will join me in congratulating Dr. Janet Lum on her new appointment.

Finally, I would like to thank the search committee and staff support team (listed below) for their time, expertise and service. I will continue to serve as Acting Associate Dean Research & Graduate Studies to May 31st, 2012, when Janet Lum will assume her functions.

Jean-Paul Boudreau

Dean of Arts

Chair of  the Associate Dean of Arts Search Committee:

- Dr. Martin Antony, Chair, Department of Psychology
- Dr. Dennis Denisoff, Chair, Department of English
- Dr. Chris Gore, Department of Politics and Public Administration
- Dr. Tae Hart, Department of Psychology
- Dr. Kathleen Kellet-Betsos, Department of Sociology & Department of French & Spanish
- Dr. Nima Naghibi, Department of English
- Catherine Melo, Arts and Contemporary Studies Student
- Dr. Claus Rinner, Department of Geography
- Dr. Maurice Roche, Chair, Department of Economics
- Dr. Jean-Paul Boudreau, Committee Chair (non-voting) 

Search Committee Resource Staff:

- Gail Duffus, Dean’s Office
- Kathryn Rowan, Dean’s Office