New year, new dean

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There is a new face in the office of the Dean of Social Sciences. On Nov. 15, Economics professor Jeremiah Hurley will step into the role of Dean following the departure of Charlotte Yates, who was appointed the position of provost at Guelph University.

Hurley specializes in the economics of health and health care systems and completed his Master’s at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

The idea of Hurley’s new role at McMaster is exciting. He said, “I’m most looking forward to trying to help build excellence in the faculty in teaching and research, support faculty and the university as it moves forward with its agenda.”

Hurley hopes to continue some of the initiatives Yates undertook in her time as the Social Sciences Dean. He cited LR Wilson Hall, a new building exclusively for Humanities and Social Sciences students that is set to open next summer. Hurley hopes it will foster innovative efforts in teaching and making use of active learning spaces. “It’s going to create great opportunities for us to learn from both research and the community,” he explained.

In addition to continuing the initiatives Yates started, Hurley hopes to create more opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. Due to the nature of his specialty, Prof. Hurley said, “I’ve always been appointed between Health Sciences and Social Sciences so I’ve always been engaged in interdisciplinary work.” He added that he plans to discuss strategies for greater interdisciplinary collaboration with other faculty members.

This collaboration process is what Hurley loves most about the McMaster community. “The environment at McMaster is so supportive of interdisciplinary research,” he said.

“When I was on leave at another university and I realized the things I just take for granted at McMaster in terms of the ease of working with others across departments and faculties doesn’t exist everywhere. For me that was a moment of crystallization.”

Prof. Hurley has not confirmed what these new interdisciplinary efforts will look like, but he mentioned the possibility of a greater variety of classes being offered to students in some programs in addition to courses where multiple professors divide a course. He believes this will allow students to learn about a wider range of perspectives, and concluded, “I think we want to be open and flexible about this.”

Photo Credit: evidencenetwork.ca

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