Faculty Resources
How to become a Social Justice Studies Supervisor?
The SJS Program welcomes faculty from the Thunder Bay and Orillia campuses, from Social Sciences and Humanities but also other faculties, to apply for SJS Supervisor status. Potential faculty are encouraged to attend SJS Colloquium and other events to get to know current faculty and students. Potential SJS Supervisors are encourage to meet with the Program Advisor to discuss possible opportunities within the Program, and to review the kind of projects students have completed.
SJS Supervisors must first meet qualifications for Faculty of Graduate Studies status:
https://www.lakeheadu.ca/faculty-and-staff/faculty-resources/graduate-resources/fgs
Interested faculty must submit a letter of request to the SJS Advisory Committee via the Program Advisor, outlining their qualifications and interests for joining the SJS Supervisory positions.
Faculty should indicate if they have an interest in one or more of the three functions of SJS faculty:
Supervising research or creative projects.
Teaching SJS courses and / or courses co-listed with their home department.
Serving on a Social Justice Studies Committee: Admissions, Curriculum, Academic Review, or Events.
Meetings
All SJS Supervisory Faculty are encouraged to attend Program meetings: fall, winter, and spring. The meetings will consists of a program report from the coordinator / advisor, committee reports, membership review, and new business as brought forward by the faculty. Committee membership will be established at the fall meeting and as needed at other meetings.
How to propose a course for the program?
When a department and instructor are willing and able to co-list a course with Social Justice Studies, the SJS Advisory Board asks for a short proposal consisting of the following elements:
A well developed syllabus with the proper SJS course designation: 5011 for .5 FCE, 5020 for 1.0 FCE.
The course syllabus should explicitly acknowledge and address at least one of the SJS program learning objectives listed below.
Because SJS students come from a variety of undergraduate degrees, if the proposed course has specific disciplinary expectations, a preparatory unit (assigned in the first few weeks of class), is recommended, but not required.
If the course for the home department is an undergraduate (4000) course,
additional readings, especially relevant scholarship, should be assigned.
an additional assignment, or an extension on the undergraduate assignment, should be articulated.
an expectation of approximately an additional 3+ hours of work per week should be built in. Most graduate students are taking only 2 courses at a time with the understanding that graduate courses involve considerably more work than undergraduate courses.
Graduate students might be asked (with appropriate preparation) to lead breakout discussion groups or peer review groups. This work can be evaluated.
For Fall-Winter courses, the proposal should be submitted by February 1; for Spring / Summer courses, the proposal should be submitted by December 15. Dates may vary from year to year. Materials can be emailed to admin.socialjustice@lakeheadu.ca
SJS Committees
Academic Planning and Curriculum Committee (2025-2026)
Dr. Chris Sanders, Sociology, Thunder Bay
Dr. Debra Mackinnon, Criminology/ Interdisciplinary Studies, Orillia
Dr. Juan Sánchez Martínez, Indigenous Learning, Thunder Bay
Dr. Kevin Brooks, Social Justice Studies, Thunder Bay
Dr. Kristin Burnett, Indigenous Learning, Thunder Bay
Dr. Rosemary Kimani-Dupuis, Gender & Women's Studies / Social Justice Studies, Thunder Bay
Admissions and Recruitment Committee (2025-2026)
Dr. Ben Maiangwa, Political Science, Thunder Bay
Dr. Davut Akca, Criminology, Orillia
Dr. Debra Mackinnon, Criminology/ Interdisciplinary Studies, Orillia
Dr. Kevin Brooks, Social Justice Studies, Thunder Bay
Dr. Kristin Burnett, Indigenous Learning, Thunder Bay
Dr. Steve Jobbitt, History, Thunder Bay
Academic Review Committee (2025-2026)
Dr. Barb Parker, Sociology, Thunder Bay
Dr. Debra Mackinnon, Criminology, Orillia
Dr. Juan Sánchez Martínez, Indigenous Learning, Thunder Bay
Dr. Kevin Brooks, Social Justice Studies, Thunder Bay
Dr. Kristin Burnett, Indigenous Learning, Thunder Bay
Dr. Lori Chambers, Gender & Women's Studies, Thunder Bay
Dr. Sandra Jeppesen, Interdisciplinary Studies, Orillia (alternate/ 2nd reader capacity for creative projects)
Ad Hoc Committee - SJS Institutional Home committee (2025-2026)
Dr. Chris Sanders, Sociology, Thunder Bay
Dr. Debra Mackinnon, Criminology, Orillia
Dr. Jennifer Jarman, Sociology, Orillia
Dr. Kevin Brooks, Social Justice Studies, Thunder Bay
Dr. Kristy Holmes, Visual Arts, Thunder Bay
Dr. Sandra Jeppesen, Interdisciplinary Studies, Orillia
Ad Hoc Committee - SJS PhD committee (2025-2026)
Dr. Barb Parker, Sociology, Thunder Bay
Dr. Ben Maiangwa, Political Science, Thunder Bay
Dr. Davut Akca, Interdisciplinary Studies, Orillia
Dr. Doug Ivison, English, Thunder Bay
Dr. Jennifer Jarman, Sociology, Orillia
Dr. Kevin Brooks, Social Justice Studies, Thunder Bay
Dr. Kristin Burnett, Indigenous Learning, Thunder Bay