Gavin Adamson and Asmaa Malik wrap up tenure as School of Journalism's interim Co-Chairs

Gavin Adamson and Asmaa Malik have wrapped up their time as the interim co-chairs of the School of Journalism.

The pair took over the role last March and shortly after, the School passed an equity action plan to address issues raised by students, with full support from the School’s faculty.

“The big things were addressing the shortcomings of concerns,” said Malik. “So looking at hiring new faculty members that sort of reflect the diversity of perspectives on journalism [and] lived experience and professional experiences, as well as looking at the curriculum, courses that focus on equity deserving groups more often, [and] equity training for faculty and staff.”

Despite the interim label, Adamson says he and Malik felt it was their responsibility to take on some of the action that they were asked to do on behalf of the students and the faculty.

Assistant Professors Adrian Ma and Sonya Fatah worked closely with Adamson and Malik over their time as co-chairs, in the role of undergraduate program liaisons. 

“I thought their leadership was just absolutely tremendous and just on a personal level, I have so much gratitude for the time, patience and availability they had for us,” said Ma.

Ma specifically notes the work the pair did to accommodate both students and instructors with a mix of in-person and online class options, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I have a very distinct memory of our second-year class coming in and meeting a bunch of other second year students and just laughing, crying and hollering in the hallways because these are people that had never met in person before even though they were in their second year. I remember being there and Gavin being around and us just being really inspired and charged up by this joyous moment we were witnessing between students being on campus and meeting each other for the first time.”

Fatah highlighted the duo’s work in looking at practices within the School.

“A lot of care was taken to think about processes and about the impact of certain practices and to create a record of each and every one of those practices, so there’s a pathway for future leadership positions.”

Michael Turco, the School of Journalism’s Manager of Operations, Administration and Equity, joined the School shortly after Adamson and Malik stepped into their roles. He notes that while the tasks at hand could be overwhelming at times, the pair “never let a good idea pass us by.”

“I'm so proud of the work we've done together and none of it would have been possible without their dedication, creative-thinking, and ethical decision-making,” said Turco. “The support they offered as supervisors, colleagues, and friends was exceptional.”

Some of the most rewarding moments for Adamson and Malik in their tenure as interim co-chairs included hiring Eternity Martis and Shari Okeke as new faculty members, as well as multiple students capturing awards, such as Dania Ali receiving a Gold Medal from the university in 2021 and Camilla Bains and Zainab Damji being honoured at the university and faculty levels respectively with the Dennis Mock Award this year.

Malik also notes the safe spaces the School held last year as an important initiative, in regards to anti-Asian violence, deaths related to Covid in India and the discovery of unmarked residential school mass graves.

“These kinds of conversations we were having with students kind of looked at how stories were being covered but how they were affecting students as journalists and as people,” said Malik. “That was kind of a key thing where we were finding ways to reach out to students as individuals.”

Adamson says his time in the role provided insight as to just how much is happening behind the scenes.

“It just made me even more aware how careful we all have to be as teachers, as peers, in the curriculum, and just how much care we ought to be giving to classroom situations [and] to staffing situations,” said Adamson. “There's so much happening that people don't know about that is really challenging for students, faculty and staff,” said Adamson. 

The pair will each still take on leadership roles with the School going forward, with Adamson serving as the School’s Associate Chair for the Fall 2022 semester and Malik as the Associate Chair in the Winter 2023 semester. They also note their support for Ravi Mohabeer, who takes over as the School’s permanent Chair. 

“We’re excited to see where he takes the school and we have complete confidence in him,” said Adamson.

Both Adamson and Malik also give praise to the School’s faculty and staff over their time in the role, with Malik specifically noting the help they received from Turco and the undergraduate program liaisons, Ma and Fatah, along with Nicole Blanchett and April Lindgren.

“Honestly, from staff through faculty, everyone jumped in. It wasn't just us in that sense,” said Malik. “Everyone was kind of trying to keep things going [with] as much continuity as possible, but thinking differently about ways that we connect with students, that we teach, [and] that we connect with a larger community. So I think it's obviously a huge departmental effort and to see so many people step up and shine and find ways to work together was really quite heartening.”

The pair also noted the importance of taking on the role together.

“I couldn’t have done it without Asmaa,” said Adamson. “We were able to do it because we had worked together on research and on curriculum in the past and it wasn’t just that we worked together, but working together in the past had shown us we had the same kind of vision in thinking about certain kinds of journalism concerns and curriculum concerns. So that worked really well, and I just felt like I was constantly learning things from Asmaa every day.”

“If I hadn't had Gavin to counsel with, to go through things with, to throw ideas against the wall with, it would’ve been really hard,” said Malik. “I think the support was critical in what we were taking on.”