Organigram
Our Organizational Chart
The International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation is centred at the University of Guelph, with partner sites at McGill University in Montreal, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, University of Regina, and the University of California at Santa Barbara. The institute brings together an international team of 50+ researchers from 20 different institutions.
Under the leadership of the Director, the Institute’s Management Team is responsible for key policy decisions relating to the intellectual direction of the Institute. This team advises on major decisions helps to ensure integration of research objectives. Working closely with the Director, the Management Team meets face-to-face annually to review budgets and reports on research progress, and to plan for the implementation of project activities. The management team consists of the Director, all site coordinators, the Knowledge Mobilization tool coordinators, the Executive Director of the Musagetes Foundation, the Project Manager, and a graduate student representative. The structure of the management team leverages the expertise and experience of our community-based foundation partner, demonstrating our commitment to building substantive partnerships beyond the academy.
Our Executive Committee is engaged in the overall design and governance of the Institute, ongoing fundraising and partnership-building, and cross- and pan-project issues related to our overall research directions and agenda. Our Institute’s executive level partners (Guelph, McGill, Memorial, Regina, UBC, and UCSB) and our foundation partner (Musagetes) have a presence on the executive committee of the Institute. The Director and Executive Committee prepare the annual reports documenting overall research program progress. They will meet regularly to review progress and upcoming milestones in each stream, assess any risks to the timeline and research factors, and develop plans to mitigate those risks.
The Institute’s Advisory Board reflects a wide range of relevant experience and expertise to provide overall wisdom, guidance, and counsel, and to review annual reports. Patrick Case (Assistant Deputy Minister, Ontario Ministry of Education; human rights lawyer; formerly Director of Human Rights and Equity Office, University of Guelph) serves as chair, alongside panel members Kim Thorne (Manager, Facilities and Operations, College of Arts, University of Guelph), Dionne Brand (award winning writer/scholar, Poet Laureate of Toronto), and Linda Hutcheon (writer/scholar, Molson Prize recipient).
| Location | Role |
|---|---|
| University of Guelph | Site Coordinator: Frederique Arroyas |
| University of British Columbia | Site Coordinator: Kevin McNeilly |
| University of California, Santa Barbara | Site Coordinator: George Lipsitz |
| McGill University | Site Coordinator: Eric Lewis |
| Memorial University of Newfoundland | Site Coordinator: Ellen Waterman (2012-2018), Andrew Staniland (2018- ) |
| Musagetes Foundation | Executive Director: Shawn Van Sluys |
| University of Regina | Site Coordinator: Rebecca Caines |
| Team Member & Research Priorities | Site & Department | |
|---|---|---|
| Research Priorities 1. Improvisation as Practice-Based Research 2. Improvisation, Community Health, and Social Responsibility 3. Improvisation, Intermediality, and Experimental Technologies |
||
| Ajay Heble [1, 2] | Institute Director, University of Guelph, English | |
| Frederique Arroyas [1, 2] | University of Guelph, Languages and Literatures | |
| Rebecca Caines [1, 2, 3] | University of Regina, Creative Technologies | |
| Daniel Fischlin [1, 2, 3] | University of Guelph, English | |
| Ichiro Fujinaga [3] | McGill University, Music Research | |
| Elizabeth Jackson | University of Guelph, Community Engaged Scholarship Institute | |
| Eric Lewis [1, 2, 3] | McGill University, Philosophy | |
| George Lipsitz [1, 2] | University of California, Santa Barbara, Black Studies and Sociology | |
| Kevin McNeilly [1, 2] | University of British Columbia, English | |
| Justine Richardson | IICSI Project Manager | |
| Andrew Staniland [3] | Memorial University of Newfoundland, Music | |
| Shawn Van Sluys | Musagetes Foundation | |
| Ellen Waterman [1, 2, 3] | Carleton University, Music | |
| Daniel Weinstock [2] | McGill University, Law | |
| Team Member & Research Priorities | Institution & Department | |
|---|---|---|
| Research Priorities 1. Improvisation as Practice-Based Research 2. Improvisation, Community Health, and Social Responsibility 3. Improvisation, Intermediality, and Experimental Technologies |
||
| Joel Bakan [2] | University of British Columbia, Law | |
| Lisa Barg [1] | McGill University, Music | |
| Ben Bolden | Queen’s | |
| Georgina Born [2, 3] | University of Oxford, Music and Anthropology | |
| David Brackett [1] | McGill University, Music Research | |
| Mark V. Campbell | Ryerson University, Media | |
| Jason Caslor [1] | Arizona State University, Music | |
| Roger Dean [1, 3] | University of Western Sydney, MARCS Auditory Laboratories | |
| George Lipsitz [1, 2] | University of California, Santa Barbara, Black Studies and Sociology | |
| Rumina Dhalla [2] | University of Guelph, Management and Economics | |
| Beverley Diamond [1] | Memorial University, Music | |
| Alan Filewod [1] | University of Guelph, Theatre Studies (retired) | |
| Cecil Foster [1] | University at Buffalo – The State University of New York, Transnational Studies | |
| David Gerhard [3] | University of Regina, Computer Science | |
| Ian Gold [2] | McGill University, Philosophy | |
| James Harley [1, 3] | University of Guelph, Music | |
| Kristin Harris Walsh [1] | Memorial University of Newfoundland, Music | |
| Kathleen Irwin [1] | University of Regina, Theatre | |
| Lawrence Joseph [2] | McGill University, Epidemiology and Biostatistics | |
| Ric Knowles [1] | University of Guelph, Theatre Studies (retired) | |
| David Lametti [2] | McGill University, Law | |
| George Lewis [1, 2, 3] | Columbia University, Music | |
| Lisa Lorenzino [1] | McGill University, Music Education | |
| Charity Marsh [3] | University of Regina, Interactive Media and Performance Labs | |
| Stephen McAdams [3] | McGill University, Music Perception and Cognition | |
| Marta McCarthy [1] | University of Guelph, Music | |
| David Metzer [1] | University of British Columbia, Music | |
| Ingrid Monson [1, 2] | Harvard, Music | |
| Mia Perry [1, 2] | University of Glasgow, Education | |
| Sheila Petty [1, 3] | University of Regina, Media Studies | |
| Tina Piper [2] | McGill University, Law | |
| Rob Power [1] | Memorial University of Newfoundland, Music | |
| Helen Pridmore | University of Regina, Music | |
| Carla Rice | University of Guelph, Family Relations & Applied Nutrition | |
| Kathryn Ricketts | University of Regina, Education | |
| Keith Sawyer [2] | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Education | |
| Tom Scholte [1] | University of British Columbia, Theatre and Film | |
| John Semple [2] | University of Toronto, Women’s College Hospital, Surgery | |
| Keiko Shikako-Thomas | McGill University, Physical & Occupational Therapy | |
| Gillian Siddall [1, 2] | President, Emily Carr University of Art + Design | |
| Winfried Siemerling [1, 2] | University of Waterloo, English | |
| Howard Spring [1] | University of Guelph, Music | |
| Alan Stanbridge [1, 2] | University of Toronto at Scarborough, Arts, Culture, and Media | |
| Jason Stanyek [1, 2] | University of Oxford, Ethnomusicology | |
| Jesse Stewart [1, 2, 3] | Carleton University, Music | |
| Michelle Stewart | University of Regina, Justice Studies | |
| Sherrie Tucker [2, 3] | University of Kansas, American Studies | |
| Paul Watkins | Vancouver Island University, English | |
| Deborah Wong [1, 2] | University of California, Riverside, Music | |
