A Day-in-the-Life: Dean Marvin Washington

On an overcast Tuesday this summer, near his one-year anniversary as the dean and vice provost of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH), Marvin Washington has a full schedule of back-to-back meetings. 

Washington usually keeps his calendar clear until 9:00 a.m. This is so he can start the day with his family – walking his son to daycare and grabbing a coffee with his wife on the way to the office – and then spend the first hour of the work day “thinking, processing and focusing.” 

Today is an exception. A breakfast meeting brought him to campus at 7:30 a.m. to attend a presentation by the Office of the Vice President (Research and Innovation) to deputy ministers about the Canadian Net-Zero Energy Solution (CANZES) initiative. 

Washington arrives at the college offices on the seventh floor of the Education Building straight from this meeting, shortly before 9:00 a.m., and greets the staff members he passes on the way to his office.  

In his first year on the job, Washington has settled into what he identifies as three different roles as CSSH dean. The first is outward-facing – as senior leadership, the college deans are often called on to serve as delegates for the provost at university-wide meetings. 

The second role is inward facing, as he works to cultivate engagement across the college. Washington looks for opportunities to collaborate with the faculties on multi-disciplinary projects that bring together researchers from across the social sciences and humanities, such as the Pan-African Symposium that took place during Black History Month this year.

The third role is one Washington has grown into as he has gained a better understanding of the college’s unique needs. “I advocate for social sciences and humanities on campus, reminding the university that our college has world-renowned scholars who do amazing things,” he says, noting that this was his focus at the CANZES meeting he just attended.   

9:00 a.m.

Washington’s first regular meeting of the day is with Kerrie Johnston, who has been general manager of CSSH since it was established. Johnston was the first person Washington met with when he took over from Interim Dean Joseph Doucet last July. 

“Kerrie is capable and confident; I figured that out after two minutes,” he recalls. “But we needed to figure out what kind of culture we wanted to build.”

Johnston has become Washington’s right-hand colleague, and he admits to popping into her neighbouring office frequently with questions. But they also try to sit down twice a week to bring each other up-to-speed on items related to keeping the college running smoothly – including policy, organizational needs, budget and issues management. 

Today, they share updates on items such as the communications surrounding the re-opening of the Humanities Centre after it was damaged by fire last year, the status of an upcoming presentation for the president’s office and the recently-announced third party review of the university’s encampment response in May. 

10:00 a.m.

After a private meeting with a faculty member, Washington has a one-on-one scheduled with another CSSH staff member, Tim Ira. 

Ira joined the college in the spring of 2023 and spent over a year as the first Indigenous initiatives and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) officer. During his half hour with Washington, they cover a number of ongoing EDI initiatives – both college-based projects, such as the inaugural Dr. Gordon Hirabyashi Annual Lecture scheduled for the fall, and collaborations with other units, such as for the new Black Canadians course.

Throughout the wide-ranging conversation, Washington contributes his ideas and input – and the pair often focus on discussing ways to ensure EDI is treated as more than a “cherry on top,” but rather as an essential part of the college’s work.

Unlike his weekly meetings with Johnston, Washington says he sits down with Ira as needed – usually about once a month. 

“I’m not a micromanager. That’s just not my style at all,” he says. “I’m a ‘let’s get clear on the front end and then my door is open’ manager.”

11:00 a.m.

Next on Washington’s agenda is a monthly CSSH leadership meeting, which he initiated when he became dean (along with a quarterly college-wide meeting for all staff). 

Joining Washington at the boardroom table are his colleagues Johnston, Ira and the associate deans and directors from the Office of Research and the Office of Education – Joanna Harrington, Oliver Rossier, Helen Vallianatos and Vanessa Grabia. 

Each one takes a turn sharing broad updates from their portfolio with the group. The conversations that ensue are interspersed with references to larger issues that affect the entire leadership team – frequently going back to the ongoing challenges of navigating the U of A’s shift to the college model.

“No one has the road map,” Washington says at one point. “We’re all building this together. We all need to share our voices.”

12:30 p.m.

The leadership meeting extends past the scheduled hour, and Washington spends the remainder of his lunch break catching up on emails in his office before his next appointment. He also books an Uber to the airport for his flight to Kelowna later in the afternoon. 

1:00 p.m.

Washington’s final meeting before leaving the office is with Andre McDonald, then an associate vice president with VPRI. 

Washington and McDonald go back and forth about a variety of research initiatives coming out of the college. This includes an early discussion about conceptualizing a new research centre, as well as a thoughtful conversation about moving Indigenous initiatives forward in culturally-appropriate ways. 

The pair have an easy rapport, and their exchanges throughout the hour-long meeting are both candid and thoughtful as they grapple with complex problems and exchange ideas. 

2:00 p.m.

Washington and McDonald’s conversation spills out into the hallway as they continue talking on their way out of the CSSH office together. Washington is headed home to join one final meeting – about interdisciplinary PhD programs – by Zoom. 

3:00 p.m.

Washington heads to the airport to catch a flight to Kelowna, where he’s meeting with the principal and deputy vice-chancellor of UBC Okanagan (and former dean of the U of A Faculty of Arts), Lesley Cormack.  

Typically, Washington wraps up his meetings by 4:00 p.m. so that he can retrace his steps from the morning, returning to pick up his son before the daycare closes at 5:30 p.m. The rest of the day is focused on family time. He tries not to work from home in the evening, except to respond to urgent texts and G-chats, and he usually checks emails around 10:00 p.m. so he isn’t overwhelmed by his inbox in the morning. 

This routine, while fast-paced and demanding at times, is one Washington has become accustomed to over the last year – and one he will continue in order to meet the needs of this relatively new role. 

“My daily schedule is really borne out of wanting to encourage and support people in the four faculties as they engage with the university in a new way through the college model, which means I have to meet with people,” he says. “The CSSH office becomes that connection between the faculties and the university.”