Beginnings of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing: A symbol of hope | Prof. Maureen Cole

Prof. Maureen Cole, Social Policy & Social Work

August 2012 was not like any other August.

Normally, August is a time for winding down, for some relaxation, for catching up on life. It was not to be. Because the Faculty for Social Wellbeing had just been set up and I had been appointed the first Dean on the 1st August.

Despite the apprehension about what might lie ahead, the excitement of the setting-up of the new faculty, the 14th Faculty of the University of Malta, propelled me during that sweltering August.

There was much to be done so we needed to get to work to ensure that all was in place by October and the start of the new academic year. We needed to hit the ground running… and we did!

The setting up of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing had come about through the initiative of the then-Rector, Professor Juanito Camilleri, who in the spring of 2012 approached various existing departments, institutes and centres with a ‘social wellbeing’ focus, to explore the possibility of bringing these academic entities together.

This initiative was received well and after meetings with all the relevant stakeholders, the Rector’s proposal for the setting up of the Faculty was approved by the University Senate and Council, the governing bodies of the university.

The ethos of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing was reflected in its name. The faculty’s gaze had to be outward looking. However it was now up to the heads and members of the departments of Counselling, Criminology, Family Studies, Psychology, Social Policy and Social Work, Youth and Community Studies, and the Disability Studies Unit (which formed the faculty at the time) to breathe life into that ethos.

I interpreted my role as that of facilitator of this process. We spoke the same language as academics from related substantive areas. However, we still needed to learn to sing from the same songbook.

We were well supported in this process by the administrative staff of the faculty, as we slowly established the internal structures which made it possible for the faculty to fulfil its functions. Not having a faculty building proved challenging, however we learnt to rely on the strengths of our common aims. We were a strong community of interest and that kept us going.

The first weeks were dedicated to finalising the administrative and academic work required for the courses offered by the faculty. These rather fast-paced preparations helped us to coalesce as a faculty.

We also had to select the colour of the hood which students would wear during their graduation in the Autumn – in effect, the faculty colours. These early decisions proved important as they helped to cement our developing identity as a faculty. And we came together as heads of the different departments and deliberated about what colour best reflected the values of this our new faculty.

Green it was to be: the symbol of hope.