Boyden is pleased to share the appointment news of Rina Fraticelli 

Imagine debates, discussion panels and performances that focus on critical ideas and the many lenses through which people view the complex issues our society faces.  That’s just one of the roles the Socrates Project hopes to play at McMaster and the appointment of a new project director will help bring that vision to life.

Rina Fraticelli will be joining McMaster on April 1.  She brings to this position a diverse background in artistic creation, research and policy-making, and community development.  She is currently the founder and executive director of the not-for-profit research and advocacy group, Women in View where she has been leading an unprecedented national strategy to encourage greater gender and racial inclusion in Canadian media.  She is also a filmmaker and received a Genie Award for best documentary for Fiction and Other Truths: A Film about Jane Rule.  She holds a Master’s degree from the Université de Montréal and earned her undergraduate degree at Loyola College.

“Socrates is very, very timely and extremely exciting,” said Fraticelli. “It’s a forum where community, thought leaders, students, and grass root issues come together with the arts and other disciplines across the University to engage with the big questions. That’s the essence of it, I think: bringing critical thinking, creativity and first-person experiences to the pressing questions of our times.”

The Socrates Project is a two-year campus-wide pilot project that strengthens McMaster’s longstanding commitment to the liberal arts.  It is made possible by a $2 million investment from Chancellor Emeritus Lynton “Red” Wilson and is being championed by McMaster president Patrick Deane.   “I am confident we have found a leader in Rina who will help foster the communication, creativity, imagination and collaboration we need to help develop deeply engaged citizens and leaders to create a brighter world.”

Earlier this month, Fraticelli unveiled MediaPLUS+, a new gender +diversity “toolkit,” at the media industry’s annual gathering, Prime Time in Ottawa; and she has been instrumental in the planning of an international summit of media policy makers, public funders, employers and trade unions to be held later this year in Montreal.

“I love the range of forms and disciplines Socrates will incorporate. Working in documentary film, I learned the value of seeking out a range of voices and views — especially those of marginalized communities,” said Fraticelli. “I believe that experience will be vital in bringing together the campus and the broader community through the Socrates Project.”

The Socrates initiative comprises five thematic areas:

Source: McMaster University / News

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