Welcome from the Dean

Welcome to the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University.

Welcome to the Orillia Campus of Lakehead University, located on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg. The Anishinaabeg include the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Pottawatomi nations, collectively known as the Three Fires Confederacy. In making this land acknowledgment, I recognize that Treaties are made between peoples – therefore each of us is a party to the treaties that cover the places that we live and work. Treaties carry with them a commitment to learn from each other and, more importantly, have the humility to make the changes that need to be made to fulfill treaty obligations.

For over two decades, Lakehead University has been collaborating with the University of Windsor and Brock University to offer a unique doctoral program that builds on our shared commitment to academic excellence and the strength of each of our faculties. More importantly, our collaboration is based on the strong professional and personal relationships that exist between people in all three institutions. Education, as a social construct, is built on the relationships that develop between people as they work together to understand, and then challenge, the ideas and practices that underpin contemporary education. And it is in challenging ideas and practices that we learn as scholars, grow as people, and contribute to more inclusive, caring and sustainable communities.

In taking such a path, we are relying on a hope for a better future for all people and the planet. Hope, according to Menninger, Mayman, and Pruyser (1963) is based on:

the attempt to understand the concrete conditions of reality, to see one’s own role in it realistically, and to engage in such  efforts of thoughtful action as might be expected to bring about the hoped-for change. The affect of hope, in this case, has an activating effect. It helps mobilize the energies needed for activity.

To hope for a better future requires constant action and a commitment to work towards our goals as scholars and as institutions. With hope, we will come to understand our current reality, identify and navigate the obstacles we face, and empower everyone to reach those goals. It will take time, there will be difficulties, but we have to start somewhere. Maadaadizi – Let us start the journey.

Kind regards,

Wayne Melville
Dean of Education
Lakehead University