It hasn鈥檛 been an ordinary start of the academic year for the 蘑菇AV Senate.
Unable to meet during the recent faculty labour disruption, Senate was quickly assembled once an agreement had been reached between the Board of Governors and the 蘑菇AV Faculty Association to review and vote on revised academic dates for the year. This included adjusting the exam period to allow for more instruction time in courses that had been suspended.
These are important considerations and decisions for the university鈥檚 top academic governing body. And they represented the first major business in the tenure of Senate鈥檚 new chair, .
Dr. Seth, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Dentistry, formally began his three-year term as chair over the summer, succeeding Dr. Louise Spiteri in the role. Dr. Seth has been a senator since 2019 and most recently served as Senate鈥檚 vice-chair of academic programs.
鈥淚 strongly believe in Senate as a space for collaboration,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e have a lot of work to do, as an academic community, and I truly think we鈥檒l do our best in that work if we re-engage, refocus and work together to face the challenges and opportunities ahead.鈥�
Driven by curiosity
A two-time 蘑菇AV alum (BSc鈥�96, DDS鈥�00), Dr. Seth is a first-generation Canadian whose parents emigrated from India in the late 1960s. He was running his own dental practice in Halifax in the early 2000s when he began teaching in the Faculty of Dentistry on a part-time basis 鈥� and enjoyed the experience so much that he decided to join the faculty full-time. Since then, he鈥檚 served as associate dean of academic affairs for Dentistry, been awarded the university鈥檚 top award for teaching, and his extracurricular expertise in the kitchen led to him becoming a finalist on the Great Canadian Baking Show.
The impetus for him to join Senate seven years ago was his own curiosity as much as anything else.
鈥淓veryone has different reasons for entering into that governance arena and for me, it was truly about learning more,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here was an opening for a senator from Dentistry, and I didn鈥檛 go into the opportunity with a specific agenda or issues I wanted to fight for or anything like that. My personality is always just about getting more and more involved because that鈥檚 the way I learn.鈥�
My personality is always just about getting more and more involved because that鈥檚 the way I learn.
As Dentistry is a smaller Faculty, Dr. Seth quickly found himself serving in a representative role on several key Senate committees, eventually becoming chair of the Nominating Committee. Coming from a profession that can be very focused on individual practice, he says the opportunity to work with Senate colleagues from across the university has been incredibly valuable to his own journey through teaching and scholarship.聽
鈥淗aving pursued my master鈥檚 in education, being involved in academics at large, beyond any one discipline, was something I鈥檝e always been passionate about,鈥� he says. 鈥淪enate鈥檚 mandate, which really is about academic excellence, gave me this greater perspective on that. Plus, I鈥檝e loved being more connected with the broader 蘑菇AV community beyond just one Faculty. I think that鈥檚 part of why I鈥檝e found myself diving deeper into Senate.鈥�
A space for a range of voices
Now, having been elected as chair by his peers, Dr. Seth has several priorities in mind for his three-year term. At a time of budget challenge, he sees Senate as having an essential role in collaborating with administration to ensure academics remains central to plans for addressing financial constraints. He wants Senate to continue to work to make sure academic policies, teaching methods, and academic structures meet the changing needs and expectations of students.
And he says he plans to maintain the same focus on listening and learning from different perspectives that have defined his own experience as an academic leader.
鈥淚 try to work very collaboratively with people,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think that everyone brings something different to the table that, in some way, we need to hear about and incorporate. With something as broad as academic governance, given how wildly diverse our academic fields are at 蘑菇AV, it鈥檚 quite a range of approaches. And it鈥檚 not always the loudest voices that are the ones who lead you to the best solutions, which is why consultation and collaboration with as many voices as possible is so important.鈥�
He also wants to make sure that Senate balances the diligence required for academic governance with the need to be an enabler of positive change.
鈥淚 think sometimes people 鈥斅爎ightly or wrongly 鈥斅爒iew Senate as a place where things can get stalled. That鈥檚 because we鈥檙e methodical, and thoughtful, and that means things might not be pushed through as quickly as some might want. But I don鈥檛 ever want Senate to be seen as a place that impedes progress; we鈥檙e actually there to facilitate it. That takes care and communication to get right.鈥�
I don鈥檛 ever want Senate to be seen as a place that impedes progress; we鈥檙e actually there to facilitate it. That takes care and communication to get right.
Another word Dr. Seth keeps returning to is 鈥渢rust,鈥� which he acknowledges can be a complicated term when working through the complexities of academic governance. But even though there are inevitable disagreements when it comes to how best to move the university鈥檚 academic mission forward, he sees a lot of common ground to build on.
鈥淓veryone is on the same team; I truly believe that. Everyone is trying to move in the same direction, which is to make this as great a university as possible. It鈥檚 about finding solutions together, and that starts with a culture of open, respectful dialogue that helps us make thoughtful and informed decisions.鈥�