Frost Report 2016

Director's Report

James Conolly

This time last year, I had --- admittedly somewhat reluctantly --- agreed to become, for one year, the Director of the Frost Centre and also oversee the process by which the Department of Canadian Studies and the Frost Centre were to form the new School for the Study of Canada. My reluctance stemmed in part from a premonition that the latter task would not be easy, as I feared it would involve the destabilizing of a long-standing and well-regarded undergraduate Department in Canadian Studies that was already (along with many other humanities departments and programs across Canada) feeling buffeted as a result of changing currents in enrolments and university budgeting. I also was uneasy about leading the Frost Centre as I didn’t self-identify as a ‘Canadianist’ (whatever that may be) and felt very much an outsider to the Centre’s intellectual traditions and scholarship. Neither did I (to my shame) know very much about the graduate programs that I was being invited by the search committee to run. As it turned out, my premonition with regards to the first concern was indeed correct --- developing the formal governance structure for the School certainly wasn’t easy; however, the warmth and friendly welcome I received from Frost Centre faculty and students certainly allayed any concern of feeling an outsider. From my first day in the office when I met enthusiastic graduate students, through frequent meetings over coffee or post-speaker drinks in the Trend, to lunch time seminars and evening lectures, I felt very much part of the large, dynamic and engaged group of faculty and students the make up the Frost Centre. I feel very privileged to have been able to work with them this past year. It will come as no surprise that a large part of the very positive experience is due in no small part to Cathy Schoel, whom I had been lucky to work with when she was our administrative assistant in Anthropology, and the Centre is fortunate to have such a capable and positive person running that office. Emeritus Professor Tom Symons was extremely welcoming, as were long-time supporters Dr Jon and Shelagh Grant.

I would also like to note my appreciation and deep respect for Professor Bryan Palmer, outgoing Chair of Canadian Studies, as we worked closely, if not always harmoniously, together on developing a governance structure for the new School. It was not an easy process, but I believe the outcome is best viewed as a positive development. The School, now directed by Professor Heather Nicol, takes over the role of the now former Department of Canadian Studies and although the Frost Centre retains its independent role and focus on graduate education it is also very much a part of the new academic unit. Collectively, the founding of the School operating under its new structure and leadership will I hope ensure that Canadian Studies (at all levels) at Trent receives a higher profile throughout the university and beyond. I am also pleased that Professor Joan Sangster was duly nominated and agreed to take on the Directorship of the Frost Centre. She is a distinguished academic and a collegial and experienced administrator, and I know she will ensure that the centre continues to be such a positive place for research and graduate teaching.

As seems to be the tradition, I will also take the opportunity to highlight some of the important and memorable events this year. As always, the 2015/16 academic session started with the PhD retreat at Windy Pine led by Professor Chris Dummitt, joined by Professors Julia Harrison and John Wadland. Orientation events for the new graduate students and welcome receptions to mark the beginning of the 2015/16 academic year gave faculty and continuing students an opportunity to meet our new intake of graduate students. The end of Professor Bryan Palmer’s CRC in Canadian Studies was marked by a significant conference on ‘Dissenting Traditions’ in October with a cast of distinguished speakers. We continued the informal brown bag seminars, which included talks by the Bondar Fellow Dr Rafico Ruiz, our visiting scholar Dr. Paulina Mickiewicz, and former postdoctoral fellow Dr Alison Norman. The North at Trent series, ably hosted by Professor Heather Nicol, provided a series of well-attended lectures by notable speakers including Stewart Wheeler, Canadian Ambassador to Iceland, Rosemarie Kuptana, former president of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, and Inuuteq Holm Olsen, Minister Plenipotentiary for Greenland in Washington. Dr Dan Heidt and Professor Stephen Bocking also organized a successful SSHRC-sponsored ‘Cold Science’ workshop in April that brought national and international speakers to Traill, to which the School and Frost Centre was pleased to have been able to provide some support. Marking the end of the academic year was our Graduate Colloquium and end of term reception, where our PhD and MA students presented their research proposals --- being able to watch the development of formative ideas into workable projects is always rewarding, and our students did a tremendous job of presenting.

I would also like to highlight the success of our two, now former, Frost PhD students, Dr Sean Carleton and Dr Julia Smith, both of whom received SSHRC post-doctoral awards.

Finally, through all this the Department of Canadian studies was in a hiring phase, and the School for the Study of Canada and Frost Centre enthusiastically welcomes the appointment of Dr Shiri Pasternak as a new Assistant Professor in Canadian Studies. Dr Pasternak is a creative and interdisciplinary scholar whose area of research addresses law, critical geography and Aboriginal land rights. As my predecessor, Professor John Milloy pointed out last year when the position was announced, this is an important sign of commitment to the School and Frost Centre. Although my time at the Frost Centre was relatively short, I enjoyed it tremendously and was pleased to be able to contribute in a small way to its long and distinguished history and also to what I trust will be a bright and productive future.