Faculty Highlights

As Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, I am endlessly impressed by the scholarship, creativity, and widespread impact of our students, professors, staff, and alumni, so it is truly a pleasure to welcome you to our Faculty Highlights web page. Here, we collect the many and varied achievements of the members of our Social Sciences community in the areas of teaching and learning, research, service, and community engagement.

Scholars in the Social Sciences at Brock University repeatedly show their willingness to confront and address the needs of our society. They adapt to ever-changing circumstances, assess multi-faceted issues from multiple perspectives, and remain clear-eyed and determined when seeking explanations and solutions. In this corner of our web site, you will find a sampling of the experiences, accolades, and impact that we in the Faculty of Social Sciences have been celebrating most recently. We hope you’ll join us in this celebration.

Ingrid-Makus-1600x900

Dean Ingrid Makus

Faculty facts

The Faculty of Social Sciences is Brock’s largest faculty.
We are home to the following Departments, Centres, and Programs:

Applied Disability Studies
Applied Linguistics
Child and Youth Studies
Communication, Popular Culture and Film
Economics

Environmental Sustainability Research Centre
Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice
Geography and Tourism Studies
Labour Studies
Political Science

Psychology
Social Justice and Equity Studies
Social Sciences
Sociology
Women’s and Gender Studies

Faculty complement

Learning options

New offerings in the Faculty 2023-24

New in Fall 2023 is the Leadership in Environmental Sustainability Certificate, a professional development certificate program in the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre.

Coming in September 2024 is the new PhD in Applied Behaviour Analysis in the Department of Applied Disability Studies.

Award Databases

Recipients of awards, scholarships, and grant funding from across the Faculty of Social Sciences can be found in these searchable databases.

Erin Panda delivering a convocation address

At Spring Convocation in June, Erin Panda in the Department of Child and Youth Studies was named recipient of the Faculty of Social Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching for 2023. Panda gave the convocation address at the afternoon ceremony. Read more.

assembled group of researchers, workers, and dignitaries

In October, Associate Professor Simon Black travelled to Kingston, Jamaica to launch a report developed in collaboration with Lauren Marsh at the University of the West Indies on decent work for domestic workers. The launch was attended by the media, government representatives, members of the Jamaica Household Workers Union and others. Read more.

Ashley Giroux, Mark Arthur, and Raadhiyah Zowmi on stage at convocation after presentation of Spirit of Brock medals

The Board of Trustees Spirit of Brock medal, which recognizes leadership, courage, and inspiration, was awarded at Fall Convocation to Raadhiyah Zowmi (BSc ’21, MA ’23), a graduate of the MA in Social Justice and Equity Studies. The undergraduate recipient, Ashley Giroux (BRLS ’23), is currently an MA student in the Applied Disability Studies program. Read more.

Rebecca Raby, Tefair Bailey and Lesley Rigg pose with Bailey's framed award

The 2023 Faculty of Social Sciences Distinguished Graduate is Tefari Bailey (BA ’19), an Economics graduate and the CEO and Founder of Hutsy Financial, a super-app designed to help marginalized people gain financial literacy. He received the award at Brock’s Homecoming celebrations in September. Read more.

This web site was launched for the 2020-2021 school year. In previous years, the Faculty of Social Sciences provided highlights in The FOSS Review, published annually each September.