Dear MSVU faculty, staff and students,
Just as we welcomed many new students to campus earlier this fall, I’m pleased to extend a warm welcome to the new faculty who have joined MSVU this year.
We’re fortunate that these scholars have chosen MSVU as their new university home. As you’ll see from their biographies below, these individuals bring a breadth and depth of expertise that will enhance our university’s educational and research endeavours.
Please join me in warmly welcoming these new MSVU community members.
Sincerely,
Lori
Dr. Lori Francis
Vice-President Academic and Provost
Mount Saint Vincent University
New Faculty 2024/25
Dr. Ian Liujia Tian, Assistant Professor, Women’s Studies
Ian completed their Ph.D. at the University of Toronto and joins MSVU as an Assistant Professor of Global Equity Studies in the Department of Women’s Studies. Their research focuses broadly on the political economy of gender and sexuality in transnational contexts and the impact of racial capitalism on queer/trans labour, pleasure, and survival. They situate their research in queer Marxism, queer/trans of color critique, transnational feminism, and Asian Canadian/Asian studies.
Dr. Tian is currently working on their first monography entitled Pleasure Production: Surviving Love and Labour in China’s Fast Fashion, an ethnography of gender and sexual non-conforming migrant workers’ cruising practices. The monography offers a new lens to elucidate how embodied sensations and intimate relations, such as pleasure, entangle with global capitalism differences-making at the intersection of class, urban/rural differences, gender, and sexuality. With Rose Torres and Coly Chau, they are co-editing a forthcoming book Asian Canada is Burning (Brill).
Outside of academia, Dr. Tian is active in racialized queer community and migrant workers organizing. In particular, they are passionate about ballroom culture in China and in East/Southeast Asia, which is the basis of their second book project, tentatively entitled Sinophone Renditions.
Dr. Kris Millett, Assistant Professor, Sociology and Anthropology
Kris obtained his Ph.D. in Sociology & Anthropology from Concordia University in the Fall of 2023 and began a postdoctoral fellowship at Carleton University before joining MSVU’s SOAN faculty. Dr. Millet’s research critically examines the effects of counter-terrorism on society from a lens that considers the issues of race & ethnicity and settler colonialism. His research is primarily qualitative, using ethnographic methods, however he also publishes on social and political theory, including on the work of Karl Polanyi and the resurgence of fascism.
Prior to joining MSVU, Dr. Millett served as a secondary school teacher, a historical researcher on First Nations land claims, and as a youth worker for Inuit organizations in Nunavik.
Dr. Dhésmon Lima, Assistant Professor, Chemistry
Dhésmon obtained his Ph.D. in Analytical/Inorganic Chemistry from the State University of Ponta Grossa in partnership with the University of Toronto (Canada), in which he focused on the design of electrochemical biosensors to detect protein disease biomarkers, including for cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Prior to his doctoral studies, Dr. Lima earned his BSc and MSc degrees in Chemistry from the State University of Ponta Grossa (Brazil), during which he conducted research focused on the green synthesis of noble metal nanoparticles and the design of electrochemical sensors for quality control of pharmaceutical formulations.
Prior to joining MSVU, Dr. Lima worked with the research group of Dr. Sabine Kuss at the University of Manitoba as a postdoctoral fellow, with a focus in Bioelectrochemistry, mainly in the study and detection of rare mitochondrial diseases and drug resistance in cancer, the detection of mycotoxins in Canadian grains, and the design and application of didactic experiments for Analytical Chemistry undergraduate laboratories. He joins MSVU as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry, where he intends to apply (Bio)Electrochemistry and Nanotechnology as tools to provide solutions for environmental issues and cancer diagnosis.
Prof. Wendy Ann Forbes, Assistant Professor, Education
Wendy is a Ph.D. candidate in the Faculty of Education at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, specializing in Cognition and Learning. With over 15 years of experience in mathematics teaching and learning, Wendy Ann is deeply committed to exploring educational practices that foster positive emotional experiences for students in the classroom.
Her master’s research focused on integrating ethnomathematics principles into classroom teaching, while her current Ph.D. research adopts an enactivist perspective. Through this lens, Wendy Ann examines the dynamic interactions between learners and their environments as they engage in mathematics within programming contexts.
Wendy Ann has served as a sessional instructor in the Faculty of Education at Brock University for five years. In addition, she has extensive teaching experience in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, where she taught mathematics at the intermediate, secondary, and vocational levels for over 15 years. She holds a Master’s degree in Teaching, Learning, and Development from Brock University and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with an Education Minor from Northern Caribbean University in Jamaica.
Prof. Sherianne (Sheri) Landry, Assistant Professor, Business and Tourism
Sherianne (Sheri) has been a part-time instructor, and recently completely a limited-term position, in the MSVU Business Administration and Tourism & Hospitality Management Department since 2015. She has also worked as a part-time academic at Dalhousie, Saint Mary’s and the University of Prince Edward Island since 2018.
Sheri obtained her Master of Business in Management from Athabasca University and her Master of Education in Lifelong Learning and Bachelor in Business Administration from MSVU. Sheri has 25+ years of marketing industry experience and is looking forward to sharing her practical knowledge combined with theory to help students connect the dots between university and the business world.
Dr. Lisa Templin, Assistant Professor, English
Lis
a received her Ph.D. from Western University in 2022, and holds a MA from the University of Ottawa, and a BA (Honours) and a BEd from MSVU. She is thrilled to be returning to the Mount and the English Department as an Assistant Professor specializing in Shakespeare and early modern drama and literature.
Dr. Templin’s SSHRC- and OGS-funded doctoral research focused on early modern conceptions of the female voice, women’s sexuality, and female alliances in early modern drama and women’s writing. Her work explores theatrical depictions of the unruly female voice including the utterance of curses, accusations of witchcraft, and the powerful potential of female vocal collectivity. Prior to returning to MSVU, Dr. Templin taught in the Early Modern Studies Program at the University of King’s College and was a high school teacher in Halifax where she led extra-curricular drama programs. In her spare time, she is an avid theatregoer and an amateur fibre artist and enjoys trivia and rock climbing.
Dr. Everton Ellis, Assistant Professor, Education
Everton received his Ph.D. from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. He earned his M.A. in Development Studies, B.Ed., and B.A. (Honours) in Geography and Political Science at York University. He joins the Faculty of Education as an Assistant Professor of Social Justice (Black Scholar). His research employs theories and praxis of anti-racism, postcolonialism, diversity, equity, and inclusion to explore how school leaders and education stakeholders facilitate diversity, equity, and inclusion for students in diverse school boards. Dr. Ellis’ work engages Black communities, especially around social justice, culturally responsive pedagogies/teaching, and public schooling. His research interests centre on anti-racism/anti-Black racism and Black learners in educational contexts in Jamaica and Canada.
Over the past two years, Dr. Ellis was the course director for Black Education Studies within the Education Studies program at the Department of Language and Linguistics at the University of Toronto Mississauga and a sessional instructor in the Educational Leadership and Policy Program at OISE, University of Toronto. Additionally, he has been an adjunct faculty in the Professional Master of Education Program at Queen’s University (Ontario) for the past three years. Amongst his premiere post-Ph.D. accomplishments, Dr. Ellis has undertaken faculty-wide leadership in redressing anti-racism/anti-Black racism in educational policies and organizational contexts to advance organizational change at the University of Toronto. As a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Consultant, Dr. Ellis participated in pan-Canadian consultations and collaboratively drafted a proposal with the Black Faculty Caucus at OISE to establish the Centre for Black Studies in Education at the University of Toronto – which is in its second year of operation.
Dr. Rebeca Heringer, Assistant Professor, Child & Youth Study
Rebeca holds a Ph.D. and M.Ed. in Education from the University of Manitoba, and a BA in Social Communications from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Born and raised in Brazil, Rebeca has worked with children and youth in poverty, children and youth with disabilities, and refugees and immigrants in Canada, Brazil, Hungary, and Kenya.
Some of her current teaching and research interests include culturally responsive teaching; (forced) migrations and subsequent exclusions, oppressions, and inequities in education; anti-racism and inclusive education; children and youth well-being; philosophical foundations of education; research ethics and anti-oppressive research methodologies.
Dr. Johanathan (Johan) Woodworth, Assistant Professor, Education
Johan received his Ph.D. in Education with a focus on Educational Technology from York University. He also holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and Pacific and Asian Studies, an M.A. in Applied Linguistics, and graduate certificates in Literacy and Language Teaching and Technology. Prior to joining MSVU, he taught in teacher training programs in Korea, China, and Canada. His interdisciplinary expertise allows him to critically examine the design, implementation, and impacts of educational technologies.
Dr. Woodworth’s research focuses on innovative feedback mechanisms, AI applications in education, and algorithmic bias with an emphasis on supporting marginalized students. He is particularly interested in how technology can be leveraged to create more inclusive and effective learning environments. He has been actively involved in the Canadian Association for Language Assessments and has contributed to creating an inclusive culturally responsive curriculum at York University. In his teaching, Dr. Woodworth fosters inclusive environments that empower diverse students to critically engage with educational technologies. His teaching philosophy views education as a transformative process enabling students to create positive change.
Dr. Elizabeth Jean (Jeannie) Larson, Assistant Professor, Education
Jeannie holds a Ph.D. in Language and Literacies Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. She recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Early Collaborative Research Centre (ECCRC) at MSVU, where she focused on early childhood educator professional well-being. During her time at the ECCRC, she supported the building and sustaining of a network of individuals across Atlantic Canada who focus on promoting equity in early learning and child care environments; this work is ongoing.
Jeannie has ten years of experience teaching English as an Additional Language for academic and business purposes. She has taught in Tokyo, Japan, Hamburg, Germany, and Toronto. Her current work focuses on language and literacy development, complex systems, educational assessment, and teacher/practitioner education.