{"id":59099,"date":"2019-07-03T13:31:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T17:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=59099"},"modified":"2019-07-03T16:16:08","modified_gmt":"2019-07-03T20:16:08","slug":"changes-arrive-to-social-sciences-deans-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2019\/07\/changes-arrive-to-social-sciences-deans-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Changes arrive to Social Sciences Dean’s Office"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a new month arrived, so did changes in the Dean\u2019s Office of the Faculty of Social Sciences.<\/span><\/p>\n

Monday, July 1 marked the start of Kate Bezanson\u2019s term as Associate Dean, Undergraduate, as she stepped away from her position as Chair of Sociology.\u00a0<\/span>Bezanson takes over from Angela Book, who served in the role for the past three years and now resumes her duties as Associate Professor of Psychology.<\/span><\/p>\n

Social Sciences Dean Ingrid Makus thanked Book for her outstanding contributions to the Faculty.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNotably, her work on recruitment and retention initiatives, new program development and revamping the academic integrity processes has significantly improved the student experience,\u201d she said. \u201cAngela\u2019s unfailingly cheerful demeanour, dedication to carrying through on tasks and ability to offer innovative solutions to problems make her an outstanding University administrator. We will miss her in the Dean\u2019s Office.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Makus said it\u2019s fortunate that \u201canother excellent candidate\u201d agreed to take on the Associate Dean role for the next three years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKate has demonstrated her ability to work collaboratively with individuals across the University,\u201d she said. \u201cShe brings multiple talents and experiences to the role, including successful terms as a departmental chair and in University-wide administrative roles, including participating in Senate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dean’s Office also saw the recent appointment of\u00a0Dawn Zinga as Associate Dean, Graduate and Research after she served as interim for the past year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are grateful for her willingness to be part of the team,\u201d Makus said. \u201cDawn has excelled at supporting graduate students, assisting faculty with research grant proposals and working with units across the University to promote Faculty priorities.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Being part of the University\u2019s senior administration was never one of Book\u2019s goals. Initially, she accepted the role of Associate Dean, Undergraduate out of a sense of duty and service.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to do my part,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once in the position<\/span>, she enjoyed the opportunity to work on retention and recruitment, and to celebrate student success.<\/span><\/p>\n

Book felt having an impact on the University and seeing change happen as a result of those efforts was particularly gratifying.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked very collaboratively, which was both pleasant and more effective in the long run,\u201d Book said of her colleagues in the Dean\u2019s Office.<\/span><\/p>\n

The past three years taught Book valuable lessons, including “<\/span>how many people work hard every day to ensure that our programs run smoothly,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

She also learned not to take inevitable conflicts personally.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to work through the process that exists. I learned to work with people from all over the Faculty with a more objective, process-based approach.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Like Book, Bezanson sees the Associate Dean position as an opportunity to serve the Faculty and the University.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Chair of Sociology, she developed valuable transferrable skills such as curricular development and planning, leadership, dispute resolution, and team- and culture-building. She also learned \u201cthe value of finding ways to foreground the often invisible work department members do that contribute to our collective successes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Recently completing a Master of Laws degree in constitutional law gave Bezanson a taste of student life again and reminded her of the \u201cexhilaration and trepidation\u201d that a university education can inspire.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She is \u201cexcited to work with a remarkable team of department chairs and directors in the Faculty, to serve its students, staff and faculty, and to support and build the diverse and dynamic programs it offers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Makus echoed the sentiment, expressing pride in the new team that will be helping to move the Faculty forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am thrilled to work with such accomplished, enthusiastic and talented women to carry out the strategic goals of the Faculty and the University.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both Book and Bezanson approached the changes with mixed emotions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSuch transitions are always bittersweet,\u201d Bezanson said. \u201cIt has been my privilege to be Chair of a tremendous department with wonderful colleagues, staff and students.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Book called working in the Dean\u2019s Office a \u201cfabulous experience\u201d that she is going to miss.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a new month arrived, so did changes in the Dean\u2019s Office of the Faculty of Social Sciences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":59100,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7484,7,1,4,38],"tags":[3418,8060,8061,4212,522,4630,4566],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59099"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59099"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59105,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59099\/revisions\/59105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}