FAS Dept. of Geography & Planning CRC in Indigenous Geographies and Environmental Dispossession- Special Call

October 22, 2021

The Department of Geography & Planning at the University of Toronto invites applications for nomination to a Canada Research, Tier 2. Applicants must be full-time tenure-stream Assistant or Associate Professors in the Department of Geography & Planning (with a primary budgetary appointment in Arts & Science, St. George).

In order to address the underrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples in the CRC program (one of the four designated groups ¹ underrepresented in the program, as identified by the Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat), this special call is open only to individuals who self-identify as Indigenous Peoples of North America. The Department of Geography and Planning and the Faculty of Arts & Science are committed to supporting an inclusive community where Indigenous Peoples are reflected within its complement of research leaders, and where Indigenous Peoples are proud to work and study.  This initiative follows the provisions for special programs as described by the Ontario Human Rights Commission. The identification of outstanding candidates who self-identify as Indigenous supports University and Faculty commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion, and our public mission for the pursuit of excellence and equity, as well as implementation of  the objectives of our Canada Research Chairs Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan. 

Tier 2 Chairs are for emerging scholars, and the successful nominee should be within ten years of receiving their PhD. To meet the criteria of the program, nominees must be excellent emerging world-class researchers who have demonstrated particular research creativity; have demonstrated the potential to achieve international recognition in their fields in the next five to ten years; as Chairholders, have the potential to attract, develop and retain excellent trainees, students and future researchers; and be proposing an original, innovative research program of high quality.  The nominee’s research area must align with the subject matter eligibility of Social Sciences & Humanities Council Canada (SSHRC)].  

Applicants who are more than 10 years from having earned their highest degree (and where career breaks exist, such as maternity, parental or extended sick leave, clinical training, etc.) may have their eligibility for a Tier 2 chair assessed through the program’s Tier 2 justification process.

Applications should include 1) a letter of interest describing your qualifications and research plans for the position; 2) a curriculum vitae; and 3) if you are more than 10 years from having earned your highest degree, an explanation of why you feel you qualify for a justification as described in the link above. All materials should be submitted to the Chair, Professor Richard DiFrancesco by November 30, 2021.

For more information about this nomination opportunity, please contact Professor Richard DiFrancesco. Further information regarding nomination and eligibility criteria may be found here. For more information about the CRC nomination process at the University of Toronto, contact Judith Chadwick, Assistant Vice-President, Research Services – crc@utoronto.ca or visit www.research.utoronto.ca/crc.

The University recognizes that scholars have varying career paths and that career interruptions due to personal circumstances can be part of an excellent academic record. Nomination committee members have been instructed to give careful consideration to, and be sensitive to the impact of, career interruptions in their assessments.

The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and welcomes applications from Indigenous persons who also identify as women, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).  As such, we strive to make our assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible, and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities. Requests for workplace accommodations and related issues can be addressed to the office of  Health & Wellbeing Programs and Services.

The Canada Research Chairs Program requires institutions to collect self-identification data from all applicants, following the program’s best practices. All applicants to this opportunity are required to complete this self-identification form. The data collected via this form will be held confidentially, separate from all other employment or personal data, and will be accessed only by the University’s Research Equity and Diversity Strategist. This information will be reported only in aggregate to the selection committee chair and equity officer, as well as a small number of designated individuals in the Division of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation. No individual information will be shared with the committee members or others. Data collected via this form will be used solely for the purposes of this competition and may not be accessed or used for any other purpose.

Any information directly related to you is confidential and cannot be accessed by search committees or human resources staff. Aggregated and anonymized data regarding the applicant pool will be reported only to the chair of the selection committee, the committee’s equity advisor, and a small number of staff members in the Division of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation, for purposes of program administration and to meet reporting requirements.

[1] The Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat currently uses the categories of the four-designated groups (FDGs) – Women, Members of Visible Minorities, Persons with Disabilities, Indigenous Peoples – to monitor progress towards meeting equity goals