Contact Us

Admin Team

Scott Rutherford (Acting) (he/him)
Director, Cultural Studies
Associate Professor (Continuing Adjunct), Department of Global Development Studies
cust.director@queensu.ca

Scott is an Associate Professor in Global Development Studies and the Cultural Studies Graduate Program. He is the co-editor of Canada and the Third World: Overlapping Histories (University of Toronto Higher Education Press, 2015) and wrote Canada’s Other Red Scare: Indigenous Protest and Colonial Encounters during the Global Sixties (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020). His new research explores material histories of labour, family and grief in late 20th century Northwestern Ontario through the study of work objects left behind by the departed.

Sarah Waisvisz (she/her)
Assistant Director, Cultural Studies
cust.assistantdirector@queensu.ca

With Afro-Caribbean, French, Dutch, and Jewish heritage, Sarah lives at the intersection between histories and cultures. She is a playwright, dramaturge, and multi-disciplinary performer who has been Artist in Residence at the National Arts Centre and the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) as well as a stilt-walker and fire-dancer.  Her solo script Monstrous, about the Afro-Caribbean-diaspora experience and mixed-race identity, was published in Alt.theatre 13.3 and performed across Canada and the US. Her 2-act play Heartlines (about queer-Jewish artist-activists Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore), premiered at Ottawa’s 2020 undercurrents festival and had a sold-out mainstage run at GCTC in 2022. Heartlines was published first by Methuen Drama / Bloomsbury as part of an anthology then by Vancouver’s Talonbooks in 2025. The Talonbooks edition was shortlisted for the 2026 LAMBDA Literary Prize for LGBTQ Drama. Sarah is Assistant Professor at the DAN School of Drama and Music at Queen’s University.

Karen Burkett
Manager
Faculty of Arts and Science Administrative Services (Hub-5)
hub5mgr@queensu.ca

As manager of Hub 5, Karen Burkett serves in a leadership capacity within the departments of Art History, Art Conservation and Fine Art (Visual Art), Cultural Studies, DAN School of Drama and Music at Queen's University and Film & Media, where she supports strategic operations, administration, and the advancement of programs that foster excellence in the creative, cultural and performing arts areas. Her work focuses on building strong systems, supporting staff, faculty and students, and helping create an inclusive and thriving community. Karen brings a collaborative leadership style and a strong commitment to community, innovation, and student success.

Prior to joining Hub 5, Karen served as Director of the Queen's School of English, where she led international education initiatives, non-credit programming, and English language education for students from around the world. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Education at Queen's University. Her research explores the lived experiences of leaders of embedded English for Academic Purposes programs at Canadian universities, with interests in leadership, internationalization, language education, and organizational change in higher education.

Susanne Cliff-Jungling
Academic Program Coordinator
cs.admin@queensu.ca

Contact Susanne for:

• Faculty issues: course assignments, affiliation, general support, questions about MA or PHD guidelines
• Student advising on funding implications of withdrawal, medical leave, transfer to part-time
• TA/RA/TF assignments & issues
• Course & curriculum planning, hiring, Collective Agreement issues
• Compensation for Additional Duties per Appendix Q
• Cultural Studies Council and student governance questions 
• Financial requests

Stefanie Killen (she/her)
Helga Smallwood (she/her) – currently on leave
Graduate Program Assistants
custgrad@queensu.ca

Contact Helga and Stefanie for:

• Admissions and assistance with application process
• Course add/drop
• Transcript questions
• Grant, award, and scholarship applications
• Scheduling & protocols of exams & defenses
• Matters regarding enrolment, including time limit extensions, transfer to part time, and annual progress reports