Faculty of Education Welcomes New Dean
Dean Julia O'Sullivan began her term as the Faculty of Education's new dean on August of this year. She came to Western after serving as Dean of the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University and is the longest serving dean of education in Ontario. Julia spoke to this year's incoming undergraduate Bachelor of Education students with an enthusiastic welcome, saying they had come to the "best Faculty of Education in the country."
Julia O'Sullivan is no stranger to London, having earned both her Masters and PhD here at Western. Her undergraduate years were spent at Trinity College, Dublin. With her broad experience in faculties of education, Julia understands that her mandate stretches beyond the common understanding of "teacher training." She believes it is critical to form working partnerships with boards of education and other community bodies. Policy decisions on education can be initiated through research conducted at the faculty and implemented with the support of teachers and administrators on the ground.
Most recently, Dean O'Sullivan saw the publication of a paper written while she was National Director of the Centre for Excellence in Children & Adolescents with Special Needs at Lakehead. She was the principal investigator of "Get ready.get set.get going," a comprehensive study of early learning and literacy focused on the children of the North. The report details the importance of early pre-Kindergarten learning but also stresses that all children who succeed in school do so "because of the dedication and passion of excellent teachers."
