People

People

Faculty & leadership.

Meet the fictional scholars, teachers and academic leaders responsible for making the faculty sound considerably more organized than it is.

Dr. Tessa P. Mulligan

Dean; Professor of Cultural Studies

PhD, Cultural Studies, University of Edinburgh

Mulligan studies institutional storytelling, prestige language and the stories organizations tell themselves when the strategic plan has stopped helping. Before joining Farshore, she worked in cultural policy and public humanities. Her current project examines the phrase “world-class” across 400 university brochures.

“Curiosity is useful. So is reading the footnotes.”

Fictional faculty member and synthetic portrait illustration.

Dr. Simon Ellery

Professor; Chair, Psychology & Human Behaviour

PhD, Social Psychology, University of Toronto

Ellery researches group behaviour, social conformity and why intelligent adults will sit through a meeting they know could have been an email. He teaches social psychology, research methods and the popular seminar Decisions We Regret Collectively.

“People are complicated. That’s what makes them interesting.”

Fictional faculty member and synthetic portrait illustration.

Dr. Maeve O’Donnell

Associate Professor; Chair, Folklore & Cultural Studies

PhD, Folklore, Memorial University

O’Donnell works on Newfoundland oral tradition, digital rumour, community storytelling and contemporary legend. Her fieldwork ranges from fishing communities to local Facebook groups, which she describes as “the same method, faster weather.”

“Every community has a story. We just ask better questions.”

Fictional faculty member and synthetic portrait illustration.

Dr. Anders Nygaard

Professor; Chair, Political Science & Public Life

PhD, Political Science, McGill University

Nygaard studies democratic institutions, regional politics and public trust. His current research asks why consultation increases precisely when nobody wants to make a decision.

“Democracy is a verb. So is complaining.”

Fictional faculty member and synthetic portrait illustration.

Dr. Lila Chen

Associate Professor; Chair, Communications

PhD, Communication, Simon Fraser University

Chen studies organizational communication, digital media and how tone mutates when a message acquires its fifth recipient. She consults on public communication and teaches Crisis Communication Before the Crisis.

“A well-timed email can change the world. Usually for the worse.”

Fictional faculty member and synthetic portrait illustration.

Dr. Patrick Morley

Associate Professor; Chair, English & Ideas

PhD, English Literature, University of British Columbia

Morley teaches contemporary literature, rhetoric and cultural criticism. His research considers institutional prose, public language and the extraordinary amount of meaning that can hide inside “for your consideration.”

“Books won’t solve everything. But they’re a good start.”

Fictional faculty member and synthetic portrait illustration.