Welcome from the Dean

A Welcome from the Dean of Education,

University of Windsor

We are pleased to welcome new and returning doctoral students in the Joint PhD Program in Educational Studies (DSI and DSII) to the Faculty of Education at the University of Windsor. It is our great pleasure to host the 2026 Joint PhD Program doctoral seminars during the month of July.

We acknowledge that the University of Windsor sits on the traditional territory of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations, which includes the Ojibwa, the Odawa, and the Potawatomi. We respect the longstanding relationships with First Nations people in this place in the 100-mile Windsor-Essex peninsula and the straits – les détroits – of Detroit.

The University of Windsor is proud to collaborate with Lakehead University and Brock University in offering a rich and rigorous doctoral program in Educational Studies that draws on the collective teaching, research, and scholarly leadership of faculty across our three institutions. Through sustained engagement with these scholars and with one another, and through the program’s distinctive cohort-based model, you will be invited to critically examine and challenge long-standing ideas, assumptions, and ideologies that shape educational theory, policy, and practice.

I am confident that your work together during these seminars will support the generation of new knowledge, deepen your research trajectories, strengthen your professional practice, and open pathways for meaningful partnerships—locally, nationally, and internationally.

Doctoral study is undeniably demanding. These summer seminars are particularly intensive, but they also hold the potential to be deeply transformative. Educational philosopher Maxine Greene, drawing on the work of Kierkegaard, described such challenging intellectual labour as that which moves us beyond the routines of everyday life toward critical awareness, moral agency, and a conscious engagement with the complexities of an ever-changing world. As you reach this stage of your PhD journey, I encourage you to remember that while the work may at times feel difficult, its rewards are profound. Many who complete the doctoral journey describe it as an intellectual awakening—one they would not trade or regret.

I also hope you will take time to experience the City of Windsor, which I think is one of Ontario’s best-kept secrets.

With my very best wishes for a productive and inspiring seminar experience,

Ken Montgomery, Dean
Faculty of Education
University of Windsor