Marc Pell appointed Assistant Dean, Academic Affairs, FMHS

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Marc Pell, PhD, to the new position of Assistant Dean, Academic Affairs, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) effective July 1, 2022. Prof. Pell and Natasha Rajah, PhD, who was recently appointed to the new post of Assistant Dean, Academic Career Development, are assuming the responsibilities previously associated with the position of Associate Dean, Academic Affairs, which Anne McKinney, PhD, held from January 2019 to April 2022. We again thank Prof. McKinney for her work in supporting academic engagement and promoting excellence across the faculty life cycle, and for the continued development of the Telemachus Scholars Program for faculty mentoring.

Prof. Pell holds a PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders from McGill University, as well as an MSc in Human Communication Disorders. Before studying at McGill, he completed a BA in Linguistics/Slavic Studies at the University of Ottawa. Prof. Pell is a Full Professor in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders (SCSD) at McGill and served as Associate Dean and Director of the School from 2012 to 2019.

Prof. Pell’s research program focuses on nonverbal behaviour and how emotions and attitudes are communicated by the human voice during social interactions. In 2012, Prof. Pell received a James McGill Professor Award (Senior Research Chair), which was renewed in 2019. Previously, he obtained a CIHR New Investigator award and twice received Chercheur boursier awards (Junior 2 and Senior) from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé. His research is currently supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Réseau de bio-imagerie du Québec.

During his career, Prof. Pell has co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, has presented more than 100 abstracts and conference presentations, and delivered nearly 40 invited lectures and talks. In addition to departmental service, since September 2021 Prof. Pell has served as McGill’s Deputy Research Integrity Officer in the Office of the Vice-Principal (Research and Innovation).

In his new role as Assistant Dean, Academic Affairs, Prof. Pell will work with Chairs, Directors and School Directors in the FMHS, as well as research institute and clinical partners to ensure alignment in support of faculty recruitment and career support, including the stewardship of endowed chairs. He will contribute to the oversight of processes for recruitment, performance evaluation, tenure and promotions to ensure rigour, equity and transparency across the FMHS. He will implement and interpret analytics for key aspects of the academic lifecycle. Prof. Pell will also coordinate on-boarding, peer mentorship and coaching programmes for Chairs and Directors.

Please join us in congratulating Prof. Pell on his new appointment and in wishing him every success in this new role.