Given that he teaches evolutionary history, Alan Pinder is no stranger to how things change over time. But he鈥檚 still a bit surprised, looking back at his career, that he now finds himself taking on the role as chair of Senate, the university鈥檚 primary academic governing body.
鈥淟ook around this office: how much reading do you see on governance?鈥� he says with a laugh, gesturing at the piles of Biology books that line the walls of his Life Sciences Centre office. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not my experience, so it鈥檚 somewhat intimidating, but I鈥檓 building on a lot of great work done in recent years.鈥�
Dr. Pinder is no stranger to Senate, of course. He just completed a three-year term as vice-chair, student affairs, a role that oversees the non-program elements of Dal鈥檚 academic experience. That includes everything from plagiarism policies to student accommodation, from course evaluations to academic discipline procedures. Prior to that, he served as a Faculty of Science representative and sat on Senate鈥檚 Nominating and Discipline Committees. 聽
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鈥淚 came back from sabbatical and there was an opening for the Faculty of Science鈥� I was told it was an opportunity for me, and it sounded interesting,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 knew Senate was the senior academic decision-making body at the university, but otherwise I didn鈥檛 know much about it, which is probably the same as a lot of people at Dal. And from there, if they find you鈥檙e willing to get involved, people start to take notice.鈥�
The value of governance
Since then, he鈥檚 developed a great appreciation and respect for Senate and its work. Senate鈥檚 membership includes more than 50 faculty representatives, seven student reps and the university鈥檚 academic administrative leadership. At times, grey areas can emerge between the responsibilities of Senate and the administration 鈥� 鈥淪enate sometimes is taken to task for things that aren鈥檛 part of our jurisdiction,鈥� notes Dr. Pinder, 鈥渁nd sometimes administration is seen as responsible for things that are actually Senate policies鈥� 鈥� but it鈥檚 through Senate鈥檚 eight standing committees that faculty senators make decisions that shape and set directions for Dal鈥檚 programs and academic life in general at the university.
鈥淭he value [of Senate] is the faculty can govern, to a large extent, what we do,鈥� explains Dr. Pinder, who in his role as chair oversees the agenda and overall function of Senate. 鈥淭he faculty bring forward much of the programs, the research directions, the academic policies that we have here at Dalhousie. We may not always agree with our individual faculty colleagues across the hall or across campus, but we do have a say in the general direction of the university.鈥�
He says the biggest challenge is making sure faculty appreciate and understand the role they play in how decisions are made at the university.
鈥淚 see this as an important part of what faculty should spend time on,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 often something people don鈥檛 have time for, unfortunately, because there are so many other demands on time. But if we want faculty to be self-governing, if we want faculty to have a major hand in making decisions at the university, then you have to be willing to get involved.鈥�
A career in evolution
Similar to his transition into Senate, Dr. Pinder鈥檚 teaching and research has undergone its own evolution during his 26 years at Dal, moving from studying the respiratory physiology of vertebrates and into the realm of marine biology. (He鈥檚 currently undergraduate program coordinator of Dal鈥檚 Marine Biology program.)
鈥淚鈥檝e 'gone marine鈥� relatively recently,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚 was working on amphibians, and then started breeding them, looking at juvenile stages and early developmental stages 鈥� including eggs 鈥� where diffusion is the only mechanism for exchange. Then from breeding amphibians I got into breeding fish, including Atlantic Salmon, then got into clownfish 鈥� a marine reef fish 鈥� and now I鈥檓 doing research on coral reefs in Honduras.鈥�
Serving as chair means his time with Senate will now increase to 60 per cent from its current 40 per cent as vice-chair. This means more time bringing faculty members together to come to key decisions 鈥� but perhaps a little less time spent wearing his favourite fashions: an impressive collection of colourful T-shirts featuring all sorts of creatures, from turtles to puffins.
鈥淸It comes] from being a biologist and preferring to wear T-shirts,鈥� he says, with a smile. 鈥淎nd there鈥檚 a lot of really neat biology t-shirts out there, so why not use 鈥榚m?鈥�