Grief is a normal reaction to loss, and something that each of us is likely to experience multiple times in our lives. How and what we grieve is personal and differs for everyone, but grief’s impacts are often protracted and profound, and not easily or neatly separated from our work lives.
This website was developed within the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice-Principal (Academic) (OPEVPA) in conversation with faculty members and academic administrators who have experienced a death-related loss while working at McGill and who accepted an invitation to come together to identify approaches and resources that can better support those navigating grief and bereavement. Paramount for us was to ensure that what we developed was tailored to the particularities of grieving for academics, who were likely to have significant responsibilities related to teaching, research, and service.
We encourage you to connect with grief.liaison [at] mcgill.ca (Stephanie Posthumus and Tamara Sussman, Faculty Liaisons) for academic staff living with grief and bereavement, for any questions you may have or additional information.
Meet our Faculty Liaisons:
Stephanie Posthumus is an associate professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures. Stéfan Sinclair, her partner, also a professor at McGill University, passed away in August 2020. Her experiences of navigating grief as an academic motivated her to develop resources for colleagues and academic leaders grieving or supporting someone who is grieving.”
Tamara Sussman is a Professor in the School of Social work. Tamara lost both of her parents during her tenure at McGill. Working on this grief initiative has helped her to bridge her research/clinical interests with her personal experiences navigating grief and loss in the academy.
