The Department of Political Studies has been in operation since the University opened in 1964.
The Department of Sociology has been in operation since the University opened in 1964. In September 1998, the departmental website explained that building on a common core of required courses in theory and method, the sociology program at Trent offers two main concentrations: 1) social structures and social policies, in areas such as social inequality, families, health, and criminal justice, and 2) social interaction and culture, in areas such as religion, media studies, and ethnic and sexual identities.
Past Chairs of Sociology:
Bernard R. Blishen 1966-1968
J.C. McDonald 1968-1969
Rod F. White 1969-1974
John Hillman 1974-1977
A.D. Lewis 1977-1980
Andrew L Wernick 1980-1982
Pradeep Bandyopadhyay 1982-1985
Alena Heitlinger 1985-1988
John Hillman (Acting) 1988-1989
Roy T. Bowles 1989-1995
Alena Heitlinger 1995-1998
James Conley 1998-2004
Stephen Katz 2004-2007
Barbara L. Marshall 2007-2010
Susan Apostle-Clark 2010-2013
Deborah White 2013-2016
Gillian Balfour 2016-2018
Momin Rahman 2018-2022
Peri Balantyne 2022-
The Endowment Lands Committee was established as a committee of the Board of Governors in 2007. It was rescinded in 2019.
The Department of English has been in operation since the University opened in 1964.
In 2002, The President’s Environmental Advisory Committee (PEAC) was re-classified as the Environmental Advisory Board (EAB) under the facilities and grounds umbrella. The Environmental Advisory Board was comprised of faculty, staff, and students, a college head, a vice-president, and the director of physical resources. In 2002, the members were Stephen Bocking (Chair), Jeremy Brennan, Trudy Kirschner, Rob Loney, Ava Richardson, Naomi Tschirhart, Laura Anderson, Peter Dillon, Elizabeth Eberhardt, Charmaine Eddy, Sarah Harvie, Michelle Lee, and Natalie Stephenson.
The External Relations and Advancement Committee was established as a committee of the Board of Governors in 2018. It was rescinded in 2019.
The Association of Teaching Staff (ATS) was proposed by Professor T.H.B. Symons in 1964 and an Organizing Committee was struck. R.L. Edwards served as Chairman of the committee from 1964 to 1966. ATS was created in 1967 and existed until the union was formed in 1981. The purpose of the Association was to promote scholarship, the welfare of the University and of its academic staff, and in affiliation with the Canadian Association of University Teachers and with the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, to contribute to the advancement of the standards of the Canadian University community. (taken from the Constitution, RG 15 Box 1 Folder 1). In 1981, certification was granted, and in 1983 the ATS became the Trent University Faculty Association (TUFA). TUFA represents Trent University academic staff and professional librarians.
The Finance and Property Committee was established in 2000 as a committee of the Board of Governors.
The Finance, Property and Investment Committee was established as a committee of the Board of Governors in 2019. It replaced the Finance and Property Committee.
The Frost Centre for Canadian Heritage and Development Studies was established to promote interdisciplinary research on many aspects of Canadian society. The first class of graduate students was enrolled in 1985 in the interdisciplinary MA program. The program was first introduced under the name Canadian Heritage and Connectional Studies. The first Chair was Prof. Sandy Lockhart of the Sociology Department. The next Chair was Robert Page (1985-1986), then Bruce Hodgins, John Marsh, and, in 1996, John Wadland, in 2000 Joan Sangster, in 2006 Jim Struthers, in 2009 Julia Harrison, etc. The department has undergone name changes. For further information about the department and its administration, see A.O.C. Cole, Trent: The Making of a University, pp. 126-129; D'Arcy Jenish, Trent University: Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence, 2014; and the annual course calendars (available in the Archives Reading Room).
Lady Eaton College was opened in 1969 on the Symons Campus of Trent University. Principals have been Marjory Seeley Rogers, Douglas McCalla, Dale Standen, David Page, John Stanford, Paul Zeleza, Rosa Garrido, Kenneth Field, Arnt Kruger, etc. For further information about the College and its administration, see A.O.C. Cole, Trent: The Making of a University, pp. 126-129; D'Arcy Jenish, Trent University: Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence, 2014; and the annual course calendars (available in the Archives Reading Room).
As originally structured, the Names Committee was a joint committee of Senate by virtue of being a sub-committee of Site Development Committee and also having representatives from the Board of Governors.
The Trent University Native Association was established in 1969 and Doug Williams was the first President.
The Chair in Northern Studies, established in 1986, is supported by a $250,000 endowment from the Secretary of State’s Centre of Specialization Fund and an equal amount raised through the Fund for Excellence, and is associated with Trent’s Frost Centre for Canadian Heritage and Development Studies. The first occupant of the Chair was Hon. Thomas R. Berger.
