Dr. Faries is an Associate Professor within the University of Sudbury Indigenous Studies Department, and has been at the institution since 1995. She is retiring at the end of June 2019. Her contributions have been numerous over this time period, and her dedication to Indigenous education deserves to be honoured.
At the University of Sudbury, Dr. Faries was a key player in the James Bay project, which helped bring postsecondary education on site, to some of the James Bay Coast communities. She helped build the community support for the project leading up to the first course offered. She taught many of those on-site courses, despite all the travel involved. Her great dedication could be seen by actions such as providing extra help for students on Sundays and helping them with their bursary applications. She knew how to hold students to a high standard and, as a gifted teacher, helped every student reach new heights.
Dr. Faries is a quiet, undemonstrative person in most of her interactions – but very passionate when it comes to education of Indigenous people. Many students, both in Sudbury and James Bay, have expressed great appreciation for Dr. Faries. She has had a great impact not only within the University of Sudbury community, but on a larger scale, as demonstrated by her Indspire National Aboriginal Achievement Award, to name one of her accomplishments.
We wholeheartedly thank Dr. Emily Faries for all she has done for University of Sudbury students, and wish her all the very best in the next steps of her journey.
