26 New and Renewed Canada Research Chairs for McGill
Today in Victoria, British Columbia, the Honourable , Minister of Science and Sport, announced an investment of over $275 million for 346 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs at 52 institutions across Canada. The also made an important investment towards these Chairs in providing more than $5.2 million in new funding for research infrastructure, supporting 30 Chairs at 18 institutions.
McGill celebrates the appointment of 19 new and seven renewed Canada Research Chairs (CRCs), valued at $25.6 million
McGill’s CRCs are world-class scientists and scholars from diverse backgrounds who are working on new discoveries and innovations that help our environment, health, communities and economy thrive. In nominating CRCs, McGill develops and implements a detailed equity and diversity plan.
Nationally, the most recent cohort is composed of 47 per cent women, 22 per cent visible minorities, 5 per cent persons with disabilities and 4 per cent Indigenous peoples. This is a notable improvement in the number of underrepresented groups taking up these prestigious Chairs as compared to previous competitions.
“I extend my sincere congratulations to our newest Canada Research Chairs, who together represent the breadth of McGill’s research excellence across eight faculties,” said Christopher Manfredi, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic). “McGill shares the CRC program’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion in Canadian postsecondary labs and classrooms.”
Among the newly appointed CRCs is Professor Michael MacKenzie of the McGill School of Social Work, who was one of fifteen members, and the only Canadian representative, on a Consensus Committee of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Yesterday, the Committee released a report calling for a centralized indicator system to measure equity in education and to bring attention to disparities in outcomes and opportunity in the United States.
The report, , highlights how societal inequities influence nearly every aspect of students’ education, findings with relevance to the Canadian system. “We often think of education as the great equalizer, yet we increasingly see that access to opportunities and outcomes are uneven and often amplify existing social inequalities,” said Professor MacKenzie.
Today at the University of Victoria, Minister Duncan also signed the , a pilot program from the Government of Canada designed to transform research culture by strengthening equity, diversity and inclusion. Institutions that endorse the charter commit to embed the principles of equity, diversity and inclusiveness in their policies, practices, action plans and culture. McGill has endorsed the Dimensions Charter as well as the , which encourages and recognizes commitments towards advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in the research community.
Associated links
McGill’s Canada Research Chairs
Canada Research Chairs recipients lists: