Join us for the Inaugural Reflections Series as we celebrate Cape Breton University Faculty who have achieved the rank of Full Professors.
On Wednesday, October 22, Dr. Odette Griscti and Dr. Catherine Leviten-Reid will share perspectives on the journey toward this achievement.
Join us at 4:00pm in the Yvonne LeVert Hospitality Suite for 15-minute individual presentations from each honouree, followed by a moderated discussion, refreshments and mingling.
Dr. Odette Griscti
Originally from the small island of Malta. Odette Griscti started her professional career as a registered nurse, working at the bedside in the intensive care unit in 1986. Ten years later, she began teaching at the University of Malta and was eventually nominated to coordinate the BSc Hons program at the same university. Odette immigrated to Canada and embarked on her teaching career at CBU in 2001.
Odette pursued her BSc Honours degree in Nursing and Master’s degree in Nursing Education at the University of Malta. She graduated with a PhD from Dalhousie University in 2015. Her doctoral thesis focused on dominant discourses that shape power relations between nurses and patients in hospital settings from a Foucauldian lens. Odette’s research philosophy and interests remain focused on marginalized discourses. She positions herself as a feminist post-structuralist researcher who seeks to trouble power relationships and make invisible voices heard. Whether it is to increase the visibility of patients’ concerns amidst oppressive institutional discourses or to challenge restrictive ways of teaching steeped in traditional authoritarian pedagogies, Odette remains passionate about invigorating change. Recently, her research interests have been expanded to include existential issues and to bring to light this obscure topic in nursing education and practice.
Odette is currently a full professor and continues to teach at the School of Nursing at CBU.
Dr. Catherine Leviten-Reid
Catherine Leviten-Reid currently leads a national, eight year, $2.2 million SSHRC-CMHC partnership grant on affordable rental housing for those in greatest need. She also leads a Community University Housing Research Lab. In 2018, Catherine’s work was acknowledged for research excellence by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. In 2021, Catherine served as academic lead of the NS-based Housing for All Working Group, which produced the report entitled Keys to a Housing Secure Future for All Nova Scotians. Catherine is currently chairing the housing sub-committee of Nova Scotia’s 2025 Alternative Budget. Catherine is a professor in the Department of Community Economics, Tourism, and Indigenous Business. She is also a research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – Nova Scotia office.