Lakehead University Professor Pauline Sameshima renewed as Canada Research Chair
May 3, 2018 – Thunder Bay, ON
Lakehead University’s Dr. Pauline Sameshima has been renewed as a Canada Research Chair in Arts Integrated Studies.
“Research helps build the life we want now and for future societies,” said Dr. Sameshima, a professor in the Faculty of Education. “Imagination allows researchers to construct narratives, stories, and mythologies of the kind of world we wish to occupy. As we think and imagine, we construct a new society.
“The knowledge economy has been replaced by the creative economy, bringing to the forefront worldwide studies that link weak creativity development at work and school to unhealthy economic and societal well-being,” she said. “Advances in Canada’s creativity will depend on broader audiences being able to participate in active learning and making at all levels. Creativity is not relegated to artists.”
The Canada Research Chairs program, which attracts world-class researchers to universities, has positioned Canada as an international leader and destination of choice in research and development.
In total, the Government of Canada will provide $158.7 million in support to 186 newly awarded and renewed Canada Research Chairs. The research has potential benefits for Canadians and their families, businesses, practitioners and policy-makers.
The Canada Research Chairs program invests approximately $265 million per year toward research in engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences.
Dr. John O’Meara, Dean of Lakehead’s Faculty of Education, said Dr. Sameshima will continue working with partners and faculty in Thunder Bay, other parts of Canada, and internationally to develop creative ways of exploring and expressing research.
“We are proud to have Dr. Sameshima renewed as a CRC and look forward to seeing her research reach broad audiences through the arts,” Dr. O’Meara said.
Dr. Sameshima curates Galleries@Lakeheadu and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies. Her latest award-winning book is a co-edited collection titled Poetic Inquiry: Enchantment of Place published by Vernon Press.
“During Pauline’s first term as a Canada Research Chair she has brought inspiring work in the creative arts and helped us appreciate innovative research through different lenses,” said Dr. Andrew P. Dean, Lakehead’s Vice-President, Research and Innovation. “I look forward to her research contributions in the second term.”
Dr. Sameshima's research projects include the implementation of creativity propulsion theories, community-engaged research, prenatal education access, dementia studies, and designing teaching and learning models.
A 3-minute research video she created with her team on prenatal education demonstrates how the arts can facilitate research dissemination to the broader public. More on Dr. Sameshima's research can be found at solspire.com.
Dr. Sameshima’s Chair, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, has been renewed for five years.
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Media: For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Communications and Marketing Associate, at (807) 343-8177 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.
Lakehead University has approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and 2,000 faculty and staff in 10 faculties at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead is a fully comprehensive university: home to Ontario’s newest Faculty of Law in 44 years, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and faculties of Engineering, Business Administration, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Social Sciences & Humanities, Science & Environmental Studies, Natural Resources Management, Education, and Graduate Studies. Maclean’s 2018 University Rankings place Lakehead University among Canada's Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities, as well as first in Total Research Dollars, second for Citations, and third for Scholarships and Bursaries. In 2017, Research Infosource named Lakehead Research University of the Year in its category for the third consecutive year. Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.
