McGill University appoints new dean of the Faculty of Education: Dr Ratna Ghosh
Dr Ratna Ghosh takes over July 1
Dr. Ratna Ghosh, who holds the prestigious William C. Macdonald Chair in Education, has been appointed the new dean of the Faculty of Education at McGill University. She takes over on July 1, 1998 from Professor A. E. Wall, who led the faculty for the past seven years.
As an expert in the fields of intercultural and international education and gender studies, Professor Ghosh has engaged in research, training and development work in Canada, the United States, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Among her many leadership roles, she has served as Resident Director (1981-82) and President (1988-89) of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, Director of Graduate Studies and Research in the Faculty of Education (1981-82 and 1983-86) and later in the Department of Culture and Values in Education (1995-97). Professor Ghosh has also served as advisor to the Canadian government and has been a member, in several positions, of the Canadian Human Rights Foundation. In 1996, the YWCA bestowed on her the Montreal Woman of Distinction Award.
Dr. Ghosh came to the Faculty of Education at McGill in 1977, following graduate studies at the University of Calgary. In 1988, she was promoted to Full Professor in the Department of Culture and Values in Education.
Professor Ghosh assumes direction of a faculty with an enrolment of approximately 1600 undergraduates and 900 graduate students at a time when recent increases in teacher retirements indicate that the near future will bring new teaching jobs across Canada for those with Education degrees. It is also a time of considerable transition. The faculty is currently moving from three-year degree and one-year diploma programs to new four-year baccalaureat programs which emphasize more contact with elementary and secondary classrooms. A program developed recently with the Faculty of Science allows students to graduate with a joint Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Science. Meanwhile, planning is well under way for another new program, this one integrating professional training in teaching with academic study in music.
Commenting on the goals she has set for her faculty, Professor Ghosh stated: "We must develop in our students an ability to learn to deal with the unprecedented pace of change and emerge as leaders in the twenty-first century. This will involve moral standards, developing a scientific and technological culture, an international outlook, and achieving the highest level of excellence in research and teaching."
Dr. ghosh [at] education.mcgill.ca (Ratna Ghosh)
Tel.: 514-398-7037
FAX: 514-398-1527
