Prince George, BC – UNBC Associate Professor of Political Science Tracy Summerville knows the significance of the social sciences and humanities in a liberal arts education and she’s looking forward to promoting those disciplines in her new role on the governing council of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Summerville recently began her three-year term with the federal research funding agency and has already been inspired by the dedication shown by her colleagues on the 12-member council as well as the staff at SSHRC.

“The members of the council are absolutely committed to social sciences and the humanities research and to communicating the need for such research,” she said.

Summerville is the second UNBC faculty member to sit on the prestigious council and is looking forward to providing a voice from a small university located in a midsized community. UNBC Geography Professor Greg Halseth served a term on the council from 2003 to 2007.

As a member of the council, Summerville will not have any say over how individual funding requests are handled. Instead, the role of the council is to chart out the big-picture priorities of the organization. The council is comprised of a combination of academics and leaders from private sector organizations involved in the social sciences and the humanities.

In addition to providing her own contributions to the council’s workings, Summerville said she can learn from her colleagues on the national governing council – especially when it comes to techniques to communicate the importance of a liberal arts education in the modern age.

Created by the federal government in 1977, SSHRC supports world class Canadian research through a variety of different financial aid programs. In 2012-13, SSHRC awarded more than 3,800 grants, fellowships, and scholarships worth $337 million.

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