After a troublesome year, the Peace and Conflict Studies program at the Trudeau Centre is undergoing serious reform. New staff, a new supervisor, and a name change are on the way for PACS, following decisions from a review committee.
After two prominent faculty members, Thomas Homer-Dixon and David Welch, abruptly left for positions at the University of Waterloo, the program was left with only one faculty member until a program review committee was organized. U of T’s VP and provost Cheryl Misak said she would support the immediate replacement of both faculty members.
Since Homer-Dixon was the director, the program wants to find a replacement as soon as possible. But it will be at least another year before full-time staff are hired.
“We haven’t even started the [hiring] process yet,” said David Klausner, chair of the review committee and vice-dean of interdisciplinary affairs. “We’re in the process now, right at the moment of hiring seasonal instructors to fill those two positions just for next year.”
He said the program has also been given permission to create a new faculty position.
“I’m hoping, with a little bit of luck, that we may have a director appointed […] within the next week or two,” said Klausner.
The review committee, with representatives from the PACS program and related departments, has raised other issues with the program. A separate curriculum review committee will be set up next year, to look into concerns like making the program more interdisciplinary.
“There’s a very strong consensus, and the students agree with this, that at the moment, it isn’t very interdisciplinary. For the most part, it’s a political science program,” said Klausner. He pointed out that similar programs at other universities have significantly more input from faculties like sociology, anthropology, English, and history.
The Munk Centre’s School of Global Studies will have oversight of PACS, taking over from University College. With UC’s resources stretched, the review committee felt the program could be better served under the Munk Centre’s auspices.
“For the foreseeable future, until adequate space becomes available, the Trudeau Centre will continue to be housed in its present space at University College,” said Janice Stein, the director of the Munk Centre. “It will have the same resources as it has had as well as the additional resources that the Munk Centre makes available.”
PACS may also get a new name. “The committee approved that we change the name from Peace and Conflict Studies to Peace, Conflict and Justice Studies,” said Klausner.
The name change would reflect the push to broaden the focus of the program, but it has to be approved by the Faculty of Arts and Science curriculum committee, which will not happen for at least another year. Some students have objected to the change, on the grounds that the committee was pre-judging the curriculum review that would be underway next year.
