Message from the Dean

The Faculty of Public Affairs at Carleton University has a long and rich history in the nation’s capital, and beyond. I’m glad to welcome you to that tableau and share some of my thoughts on what makes this Faculty so interesting.

I would be remiss if I didn’t start by talking about the most important element of our Faculty, the excellent and diverse programs that remain our foundation. We have many programs that represent that history I spoke of earlier, such as Social Work, Public Affairs, and Journalism, some of which represented the first degrees ever granted by Carleton.

But not to rest on our laurels, we are always looking to create new offerings that fit with our mission and the changing times, and that constant innovation has brought us the new PhD program in Social Work that will launch in the fall of 2012 and represents not just a new program, but a new approach to studies that makes it a unique offering. Next summer we’ll be launching MA in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership – first program of its kind in Canada, along with several other new programs, both undergraduate and graduate.

To build on that success, quite literally, we opened our new River Building officially in 2012, and it is home to units such as Journalism and Communications, SPPA, NPSIA, and others. Although our strength is in the many diverse units located in many building on campus, the River Building will allow us to showcase our faculty by presenting speakers, lectures, and that allow everyone to really get an idea of what we’re doing in terms of research, pedagogy, and idea sharing. Our opening event on September 5 with noted speaker Allan Gregg received national attention, and that is the kind of event that we want to share with all members of the community, on campus and off.

And that research is what helps to define us as a faculty. The breadth and quality of our research, and the recognition it receives, demonstrates just how important our research is and far it reaches. We have had ongoing success in SSHRC funded research projects, and our published research has been cited in both academic publications and in popular media as well.

This approach to researching “real world” issues and bringing interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches to our research, degree offerings, and teaching, demonstrates a strong commitment to increasing the depth and breadth of what FPA has to offer and results in outstanding learning opportunities for our students.

And we continue to leverage all of these aspects of our faculty to create an atmosphere of thinking and learning. This sense of curiosity leads us in remarkable directions including the SSHRC Partnership Grant for the Community First: Impacts of Community Engagement (CFICE) project that aims to strengthen Canadian non-profits, universities, colleges and funding agencies to build more successful, innovative, resilient and prosperous communities.

So our growth, both in size and in quality, is reflective of the strength of our faculty, and the long history that FPA has enjoyed continues to be the cornerstone upon which we build a place of higher thinking and learning to explore the world through the lens of Public Affairs.

André Plourde
Dean