E. Dianne Looker appointed to SSHRC governing council

Dr. E. Dianne Looker, Professor Emerita and Adjunct Professor, has been appointed to a three-year term on the governing council of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Alongside the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), SSHRC is a key federal research granting agency in Canada. Its Council is a vital governing body that establishes priorities and strategies for research funding.

Looker has been passionate about research for her entire career, which included 34 years in Acadia’s Sociology department and terms as its Head as Sociology and the Director of Research and Graduate Studies. She was appointed to a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair at Mount Saint Vincent University in 2005 and co-chaired the Atlantic Research Data Center.

As a past recipient of many SSHRC grants and having served on several of its adjudication committees, she is well-suited to help govern the organization. “I am excited and honoured to be chosen for this role…As someone who has spent her whole career at small universities, I bring knowledge and experience of that setting, to ensure SSHRC’s policies recognize the contributions such researchers provide.”

Throughout her career, her research has focused on youth, particularly rural youth and their transitions to adulthood. “I bring a rural lens, including an awareness of the advantages experienced by faculty and students at institutions in rural areas.”

Looker also emphasized the important role that older but still active academics can play, both as researchers in their own right and as supports for younger scholars. “I represent the growing number of academics who not only continue their research programs past the ‘normal’ retirement age of 65, but who also have a wealth of experience in undertaking research and supervising research projects that can enrich research teams headed by younger faculty.” Although she formally retired in 2012, she continues to be a scholar, and currently undertakes analyses for the Annual Reports for the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies.

Visit the SSHRC website to learn more about new appointments to SSHRC’s governing council.  

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