[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Susan_Elliott_opt.jpg” caption=”Susan Elliott”]When Susan Elliott turned 40, she wanted to try something new.

Then, a year later, sitting on a piano bench and looking at her hands on the keys in front of her, she thought, “to make your left hand do one thing and your right hand do another and your foot do something completely different, that's a huge challenge.”

Now, at 43, she's up for a similar challenge as the new dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. She will need a lot of hand-eye co-ordination, and she'll be using a different part of her brain. It will also be one of the biggest challenges of her life.

She didn't take the decision lightly. She deliberated on it for more than a month. But it was obvious she was right for the job. At least, that's what others thought. “This was the third time I had been asked to consider a position of administration. The other times I had always said no because I thought it was premature. I'm pretty young to be a dean and I wasn't sure it was something I wanted to do at this stage.”

Elliott doesn't regret her decision and feels privileged and excited about her new road ahead. She officially took office Sept. 1.

One issue she'll focus on is an integrated health and social sciences initiative. “At the end of the five-year term, I want to be able to point to something tangible in terms of an initiative around an integrated health and social sciences strategy,” she says.

Elliott also strives to build a common vision within the faculty, starting with a deficit-free plate. Capitalizing on the innovative teaching and education initiatives is part of this, she says. “Innovation in teaching is a key part of who McMaster is. We sell not only a product to undergraduate students, we sell a process.”

Technology in teaching is a creative way to do that, Elliott says, especially in light of the double cohort. “We're going to have a lot of students in our classrooms and this is one way that we can start to address that issue.”

As a mother of two teenage girls, Elliott understands what is important to students. She is also glad she can set the example of being the first woman dean of social sciences at McMaster. “I think I'm setting a very good example, especially for two female children, that they can go and be whatever they want to be,” she says.

Her example is wearing off. Her 14-year-old is determined to go into arts and science and her 11-year-old wants to do a duo masters and PhD in math and chemistry with ambitions of being a chef. Her daughters are familiar with McMaster. This summer they attended mini university. “Right now they're dissecting squids,” Elliott laughs.

Elliott empathizes with parents who demand accountability from universities. “Parents are showing up at open houses and saying what is my child going to get from all of this money that I'm giving you, and quite rightly so. I think there has been a refocusing of our teaching on what we're giving students and what they're going to get for their money.”

In social sciences, they'll get a lot, she feels. “We see consistently students who have a broader liberal arts education are getting hired faster, they're employed longer, they make more money. Statistics Canada data tells us that all of the time. We're not creating students who can do one thing. We're creating students who can do many things.”

As a social sciences graduate, Elliott knows this first-hand. Since graduating from McMaster with a PhD in 1992, she has been able to do many things with her research that focuses on environmental health and heart health promotion.

Her most recent research involved the only study in Canada on West Nile virus with John Eyles, director of the McMaster Institute of Environment and Health. This research involves taking blood samples from people in southern Oakville, where West Nile was prevalent last summer. “If we can determine how many people were bitten by an infected mosquito but didn't actually get sick, we can determine what the magnitude of the problem is.”

Her work in the Aral Sea was equally as significant. The Aral Sea disappeared after two rivers feeding the sea were rerouted to irrigate cotton crops. The dried-up sea caused extreme health issues due to toxic sand storms. Recently, a consortium was formed between McMaster and researchers at Sunnybrook Hospital and the Centre for International Health at the University of Toronto to take over the operational research in the Aral Sea.

As she reflects on her years' past, she is excited about the ones ahead. Her predecessor Alan Harrison, appointed vice-president academic and provost at Carleton University in Ottawa, left a tremendous legacy in terms of the organization of the office, she says.

She has similar sentiments for other staff, including acting associate dean Susan Watt, a professor of social work, who is filling in the position for one year. “I feel privileged to work with the incredibly great group of people that are already in the administration here, like the other deans, the provost and the president,” she says. “I'm really looking forward to working with them and their team.”

“Susan has been a member of the McMaster community for 16 years,” says provost Ken Norrie. “She earned her Masters and PhD in geography at the University and since that time has developed a stellar reputation as a world-class researcher, an innovative and dedicated teacher, and a thoughtful and progressive administrator.”

Elliott joined the School of Geography and Geology as an assistant professor in 1992 from the University of Victoria where she spent two years as an assistant professor. She has been an associate professor at McMaster since 1998, served as the School's associate director since 1999, and is a member of McMaster's Institute of Environment and Health. She also served one year as acting director of the School of Geography and Geology.

Editor's note: Also new to McMaster is Nasrin Rahimieh, who joined the Faculty of Humanities this summer as its new dean. Watch for a profile of her in an upcoming issue of the Daily News