Greetings. I write to you from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the ancestral homelands of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk on the Island of Newfoundland, as well as the homelands of the Inuit of Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut and the Innu of Nitassinan in Labrador.
I succeeded Janine Brodie as President of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2023 and am continuing the work of my predecessors in overseeing the selection processes for Fellows as well RSC Awards associated with our Academy. As an Academy President, I serve on the RSC Board of Directors and Council. I accepted the nomination for Academy President in 2022 in part because I was inspired by the work done through the RSC in response to COVID-19. The impressive mobilization of expertise from across many disciplines in response to the pandemic demonstrated the RSC’s capacity to mobilize our membership as well as the broader community in response to urgent Canadian and global challenges.
Under the leadership of President Alain-G. Gagnon, our work continues to be guided by the three priorities outlined in the RSC’s 2023-2025 strategic plan, "Next Steps, Together.” These priorities are inclusive excellence, independent expertise, and international engagement.
The learnings garnered from The RSC Task Force on Covid-19 inform the ongoing work of the RSC Task Force on One Health, with its focus on interconnectedness of the environment (in which I would include the built environment), people (including cultures, institutions and societies) and health and well-being. Should you have interest in contributing your time and energy to the work of the task force, I encourage you to reach out to Russell Macdonald at rmacdonald@rsc-src.ca.
RSC efforts in the space of Inclusive Excellence have been informed by Royally Wronged: The Royal Society of Canada and Indigenous Peoples. In seeking to better understand our history, this book – which resulted from the efforts of many of our colleagues who served on the RSC Task Force on Truth and Reconciliation – assists us in taking next steps in reconciliation. There are copies of the book available at Walter House in Ottawa when you next have occasion to visit.
Earlier this month the RSC Council passed a motion to create a Standing Committee on Inclusive Excellence. Among the elements of the committee’s mandate is to continue the implementation and study of the Report of the Committee on Membership. Chaired by the RSC Secretary, the Committee on Inclusive Excellence will consist of Members across disciplines and across generations, and it will submit an annual report to Council with updated data, recommendations and next steps.
Later this year, the RSC is set to welcome Royal Society Te Apārangi from Aotearoa/New Zealand and the Australian Academy of Sciences as part of the Inter-Academy Partnership on Indigenous Engagement, an initiative being led by RSC College President Frank Deer. This program will serve as the RSC's annual G7 Research Summit, focusing on the theme of "Cultural Heritage” in an era of reconciliation. (All six recently released G7 statements for 2024 are here.) The objective of the inter-academy partnership is to enhance our collective efforts in Indigenous engagement. All three member academies are committed to increasing representation of Indigenous peoples, inclusion of Indigenous perspectives in disciplinary areas, and engagement with Indigenous communities within their respective territories.
For some time now, we have been in discussions with the journal FACETS about broadening the publication to enhance its openness to interdisciplinary social science and to strengthen its editorial expertise in this area. I am pleased to share that, in this context, FACETS is currently advertising for a new volunteer Co-Editor-in-Chief “to help manage the body of interdisciplinary work submitted to the journal, and to provide leadership as the journal seeks to expand its scope to include more interdisciplinary social science research.” If you are interested, please apply by May 31, 2024. Information on the position can be found here.
Including the 26 new Fellows elected last fall, there are now 607 Fellows in the Academy of Social Sciences. There were also 22 new members of the College affiliated with the disciplines of the social sciences. The work of recognizing excellence in the RSC involves nearly 100 Fellows each year, who sit on the committees that adjudicate the nominations we receive. Fellows will receive an invitation to vote on the proposed slate of candidates for the 2024 cohort within their division at the end of May. You can expect this invitation to be sent directly to you.
This year's Celebration of Excellence and Engagement will occur in Vancouver, BC, from November 7 to 9, 2024, presented by Simon Fraser University. The COEE will be preceded by a symposium on November 7, organized by SFU, focused on community-centered climate innovation. I hope to see many of you there!
As always, should you have any questions or suggestions for ways to enhance the work of the Academy of Social Sciences and the overall RSC, I will be happy to hear from you.
Regards,
Barbara Neis, FRSC
President, RSC Academy of Social Sciences