For immediate release
November 27, 2006

Federation welcomes Dr Noreen Golfman as new president

OTTAWA – Noreen Golfman, the new President of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences says she wants to help the research community focus on the impact of its work and on effectively disseminating the results of their findings.

The Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and professor of English at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Dr Golfman began her two year-term this past weekend in Ottawa, during the organization’s Annual General Meeting. The Federation represents the largest single segment of Canada’s research and post-secondary education community.

“There are many directions I want to work on over the next two years,” said Dr Golfman. “The humanities and social sciences, in both research and teaching, are the key instrument of our critical and creative thought about ourselves and our societies. In a time of rapid change, our social health depends on the continuing strength of this work in our schools and universities. I’d like to steer a conversation about the social impact of our research and teaching and its overall benefit for Canada as a whole.”

Involved with the Federation since 1998, Dr Golfman was President, Elect for one year, Vice-President, Research Dissemination for two years, as well as the co-chair of the Task Force on Scholarly Associations, which examined the renewal of scholarly infrastructure.

She is a former president of the Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Film Studies Association of Canada. Active in Canadian cultural issues and experienced with the media, Dr. Golfman is the Founding Director and Chair of the St. John's International Women's Film and Video Festival, Vice-Chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation and Chair of the Board of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. Dr. Golfman received her PhD in English literature from The University of Western Ontario. Her current research, titled "Commercializing the North,” involves an examination of industry films on the commercial development of the Canadian north.

The Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences represents 66 scholarly associations, 71 universities and colleges, and over 50,000 researchers, practitioners and graduate students. The Federation communicates the value of research and scholarship in the human sciences. It is the permanent secretariat of the annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, which draws together more than 6,000 delegates from across Canada and abroad. The Federation also manages the Aid to Scholarly Publications Program which provides subsidies for the publication of approximately 180 scholarly books each year.

For more information, please contact:
Caitlin Kealey, Communications Officer
(613) 238-6112 ext. 353
ckealey@fedcan.ca
www.fedcan.ca