R ET IRE M E NT
D r. J a m e s M c N in c h
Dr. James McNinch began his 20-year
career at the University of Regina in
1995, when he was hired to kick-start
the Teaching Development Centre
(TDC). In 1996, he was appointed
Director of the TDC, with a cross-
appointment in the Department of
English and the Faculty of Education.
In 2005, McNinch became a full-
time faculty member with the Faculty
of Education, where he taught core
studies and adult education. He was
the Director of the Field Placement
Office, then Associate Dean, and then
Dean for six years, stepping down
in 2014 while remaining Director
of the Saskatchewan Instructional
Development and Research Unity
(SIDRU) until his retirement in
December 2016.
What was the highlight/memorable
moment of your career here at the U
of R?
There have been many memorable
moments. As a teacher, I have many
memories of students working hard
and being grateful for the feed-back
I gave them. This is particularly true
of the first 10 years when I regularly
taught English 100. Helping students
improve their reading, writing, and
comprehension, and to expand their
world view was extremely rewarding.
As a writer and editor, I found great
satisfaction in working closely with 3
colleagues, Mary Cronin, Carol Schick,
and Marc Spooner as the co-editor
of 3 collections of articles and in
seeing the impact these books had on
subsequent teaching and scholarship.
Dr. McNinch received applause from colleagues for his work in the Faculty
As a university administrator, I was
told many times over the years that
people admired me for being straight-
forward, standing up for what I
believed, and supporting faculty, staff,
and students as best I could.
What significance does the work we
do at the U of R, Faculty of Education
have, in your estimation?
Teacher education, including
preservice, in-service, and graduate
work is critical pedagogical work
because we are critiquing, influencing,
and shaping the kind of society
we live in. It means encouraging
teachers to help students to become
engaged citizens able to advocate
for themselves and for others and to
strive for a civil, just society where
everyone is treated with the respect
and dignity we all deserve. I know
it sounds like a cliché, but trying to
make the world a better place is a
big job that never ends. I have seen
tremendous advances in Indigenous
education in this province and I know
this Faculty will continue to be a leader
in that regard.
What are your retirement plans?
Now that I am retired, I feel as if I
am as engaged as ever but on my
own terms. No more alarm clocks
sounding angry at 6:00 in the morning
during the dark days of January! I
am currently writing a chapter about
social justice and gender and sexual
minorities for a text-book used in
Human Justice courses. I am still
directing Camp fYrefly and fYrefly in
Schools as community-based projects
that make a difference in people’s
lives. We just hired a new co-ordinator
to be based in Saskatoon so we have
increased capacity to meet demand.
This week I was working with a school
division and the STF to make plans
for a teacher who is transitioning from
female to male and sorting out the
implications this will have for students,
staff and the community. If someone
had told me at the beginning of my
career 40 years ago that I would be
involved in such work I would not have
believed them. I have a new three
week old grand-daughter. It takes my
breath away to see how helpless and
vulnerable she is and how much she is
loved and cared for. And it is spring,
so time to transplant the tomato
seedlings that I germinated.
Do you have any words of advice/
wisdom to offer the faculty/staff or
field of education?
My Dad, with whom I had a conflicted
relationship, did always say “Don’t be
afraid to ask or propose something if
you believe in it. The worst someone
can say is NO and you can try again.”
I am not very good with my hands
but “righty tighty and left is loosey"
has been helpful over the years. Trans
performance artist and writer, Ivan
Coyote, quotes Dolly Parton saying
“Find out who you are and do it on
purpose.” In hindsight I think I have
lived like that.
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