A letter from the Dean: A new Director for JICS

Dear OISE Community,

I am very pleased to announce that Professor Rhonda Martinussen has been appointed Director of the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study for a three-year term beginning July 1, 2018.

Professor Martinussen was appointed as Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development in 2006, after receiving a PhD from the University of Toronto’s Institute of Medical Science in 2005. She received tenure and was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2013. She has since held a number of administrative appointments that have prepared her for the role, including past service as Interim Director and Acting Director of JICS, and as Program Coordinator of the Master of Arts in Child Study and Education (MA-CSE) program.

Professor Martinussen’s research interests are in learning disabilities and teacher preparation with respect to elementary literacy and language arts, as well as the promotion of knowledge mobilization in educational settings. She has held several major grants from SSHRC and other agencies, and is currently the Principle Investigator on a three-year research contract with the Ontario Ministry of Education on the subject of learning disabilities. Her research is highly collaborative and has generated 18 peer-reviewed articles in high caliber journals in child psychology, learning disabilities, and curriculum/instruction fields, in addition to numerous conference presentations.

In addition to teaching and supervising in the MA-CSE program, Professor Martinussen has several years of experience as an elementary school teacher. Her combination of experience with, and research into, graduate teacher education and elementary education, along with her administrative accomplishments and history with the JICS community, leave me with no doubt that she will provide JICS with exceptional leadership over the next three years.

Please join me in congratulating and welcoming Professor Rhonda Martinussen as the new Director of the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study!

Take care,

Glen A. Jones, Ph.D.

Professor and Dean

Dr. Rhonda Martinussen, the new Director of the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study