Amidst the throng of new faces on campus each fall are those of new faculty.
Roughly 40 per cent of the university’s 1,830 full-time faculty members have
been appointed in the past 10 years. This pace of faculty renewal has been made
possible through a program of early retirement in effect since 1986 and
government funding for increased enrolment which has been in place for five
years.
Fifty new faculty have been appointed this term in 10 faculties. Since 1987,
there have been 751 new tenure track appointments–504 men and 245 women.
Here are some of the latest faculty appointments.
Lori Kennedy
Faculty of Science
Position: Assistant
Professor, Dept. of Earth and Ocean Sciences
Education: PhD, Geology (1996), Texas A&M
Courses taught: structural geology
Previous positions: Research Assistant, Dept. of Geology, University of New
Brunswick (1988-90); Teaching Assistant, Centre for Tectonophysics, Texas
A&M (1991-92); Research Assistant, Texas A&M (1993-95)
Recent publication: The Role of Veining and Dissolution in the Formation
of Fine-Grained Mylonites: The McConnell Thrust
Teaching/Research objectives: “How are fault zones (and at greater depths,
shear zones) developed and what controls the onset of earthquakes? My research
concentrates on the evolution of continent-scale fault zones, with emphasis
placed on the physical processes (mechanisms) responsible for their formation.”
Robert Orr
Faculty of Science
Position: Professor,
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Warren Chair in Subatomic Physics
Education: PhD (1972), Imperial College, University of London
Courses taught: introduction to subatomic physics, nuclear and particle
physics, fundamental physics laboratory
Previous positions: Staff Physicist, CERN (1977-81); Research Scientist,
Institute of Particle Physics (1983-95); Professor, Dept. of Physics,
University of Toronto (1981-95)
Recent publication: Extraction of the Gluon Density of the Proton at
Small x
Teaching/Research objectives:“I am convinced that the connection between
the known forces–gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak and strong nuclear
forces–is the most important question in particle physics and probably holds
the solution to the problem of where mass comes from.”
Sylvie Langlois
Faculty of Medicine
Position: Assistant
Professor, Dept. of Medical Genetics
Education: MD, University of Sherbrooke (1981); Speciality in Pediatrics
and Molecular Genetics, UBC (1985, 1989-91)
Courses taught: clinical genetics, molecular genetics of single gene
disorders
Previous positions: Director, DNA Diagnostic Laboratory, Shaughnessy
Hospital (1989-present); Acting Clinical Director, Provincial Medical Genetics
Programme (1994-present)
Recent publication: Linkage Analysis of Two Canadian Families
Segregating for X-linked Spondylepiphyseal Dysplasia
Teaching/Research objectives: “I am currently analysing the correlation
between different changes in a specific gene and the signs and symptoms of the
disease (e.g. Marfan’s Syndrome). I am also engaged in family studies involving
DNA mapping of genes. These studies provide a starting point to identifying the
exact location of the gene responsible for the disease in the family.”
Peter Darke
Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration
Position: Assistant
Professor, Marketing
Education: PhD, Experimental Social Psychology (1993), University of
Toronto
Courses taught: introduction to social psychology, interpersonal behaviour,
psychology of social behaviour
Previous positions: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychology, U of T
(1995-96)
Recent publication: Lucky Events and Beliefs in Luck: Paradoxical
Effects on Confidence and Risk-Taking
Teaching/Research objectives: “Behavioural research has developed to a
point at which we can offer reasonably sophisticated ideas about what factors
are important in determining perceptions, judgment and behavior. Contemporary
theories appreciate that behavior is driven by a range of motives, not always
rational. My research aims to understand how factors work together to produce
rational and irrational behaviour. Answers to this question have the potential
to significantly improve decisions that individuals make and help them adapt to
an ever changing world of choice.”
Kevin McNeilly
Faculty of Arts
Position: Assistant
Professor, Dept. of English
Education: PhD, Modern Literature in English (1991), Queen’s University
Courses taught: major authors survey, introduction to Canadian literature,
comparative literature, fictions of cultural difference, Canadian literature
and multiculturalism
Previous positions: Teaching Assistant, Queen’s University (1989-90);
Sessional Lecturer, University of Western Ontario (1991-92); Part-time
Sessional Lecturer, UBC (1992-94, as part of Isaak Walton Killam Postdoctoral
Fellowship); Graduate Instructor, UBC (1994); Sessional Lecturer, UBC
(1994-1996)
Recent publication: Ugly Beauty: John Zorn and the Politics of
Postmodern Music
Teaching/Research objectives: “The polyphony that variously constitutes
Canadian culture — the proliferation of stances, positions, voices and texts
emerging within the Canadian context — offers us an opportunity to engage in a
fundamental self-questioning and to re-think many of our assumptions about
identity and difference, about nationality and otherness, and about culture
itself.”
Gail Murphy
Faculty of Science
Position: Assistant
Professor, Dept. of Computer Science
Education: PhD, Computer Science (1996), University of Washington
Courses taught: computer evolution
Previous positions: Research Assistant, Dept. of Computer Science,
University of Alberta (1986); Software Designer, B.C.-based MPR Teltech Ltd.
(1987-93); Research Assistant, Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering,
University of Washington (1992-96)
Recent publication: Assisting an Experimental Re-engineering of Excel
with Reflexion Models
Teaching/Research objectives: “Software systems are sometimes referred to
as the most complex artifacts ever created by humans. My teaching objectives
include providing students with the knowledge and skills necessary to tackle
the building of these systems. My research interests focus on the investigation
and development of tools and techniques enabling software engineers to more
cost effectively modify and extend the usefulness of existing systems.”
Gary Relyea
School of Music
Position: Assistant
Professor, Voice and Opera
Education: Voice Performance Program, Faculty of Music, University of
Toronto (1967-70); Opera School Program, Faculty of Music, University of
Toronto (1970-71)
Courses taught: vocal instructor, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto
(1978-95)
Previous positions: Appeared as soloist with North American symphony
orchestras in Britten’s War Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Mahler’s
Eighth Symphony, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Verdi’s
Requiem. Operatic roles in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor,
Britten’s Noah’s Flood, Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and Magic
Flute and Rossini’s Barber of Seville
Teaching/Research objectives: “I will guide young singers in developing a
vocal technique which will facilitate the expression of their unique
personalities when singing in several languages and in different styles.”
Linda Siegel
Faculty of Education
Position: Professor,
Dept. of Educational Psychology and Special Education, Dorothy C. Lam Chair in
Special Education
Education: PhD, Psychology (1966), Yale
Courses taught: developmental psychology, language development, research
methods, learning disabilities, psychoeducational assessment
Previous positions: Assistant Professor, University of Missouri (1966-68);
Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry, McMaster University Medical Centre (1968-84);
Professor, Depts. of Instruction and Special Education/ Applied Psychology,
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE, 1984-95); Executive Head,
Graduate Studies, OISE (1987-91)
Recent publication: Learning Disabilities and Suicide: A Causal
Connection
Teaching/Research objectives: “My interests lie in the area of learning
disabilities, such as dyslexia and other learning problems. I have been
studying the best way to predict which children will have learning disabilities
so they can be provided with help from the educational system before the
problems become too severe.”
