Research Chairs
Canada Research Chairs
The Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program is the cornerstone of Canada’s innovation strategy. Chair holders advance their fields, not only by achieving excellence in their own research, but also by coordinating the efforts of other researchers within their area of expertise.
Jeffrey Ansloos
Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Critical Studies in Indigenous Health and Social Action on Suicide
This CRC aims to deepen knowledge of the structural dimensions of suicide for Indigenous youth and their communities, a population disproportionately affected by suicide in Canada. By drawing on Indigenous studies, critical suicide studies and community psychology, this program of research will grapple with the social, political, economic, cultural, environmental, and technological factors that inform theories of and social responses to suicide. The program aims to understand how these dimensions intersect with diverse social identities and lived experiences of Indigenous peoples, and the influence of these factors on suicide. In employing community-based and social action research, and qualitative, arts-based and new media-oriented methods, this CRC will identify, develop and share practices which address structural dimensions of suicide, and nourish vitality and life within Indigenous youth and communities.
Elizabeth Buckner
Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Higher Education for Sustainable Global Development
In creating and analyzing an original, cross-national dataset, Buckner will examine how the mandate of sustainable development is integrated with University programs and policies. She will focus on how organizational practices change as a result of participation in sustainability initiatives and how sustainable development is enacted in diverse contexts. To this end, she is developing reciprocal partnerships with universities in lower- and middle-income countries. Buckner’s findings will provide guidance to governments, non-governmental organizations, and universities on one of our most pressing global challenges.
Abby Goldstein
Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Psychology of Emerging Adulthood
Professor Abby Goldstein is providing new insights on understanding mental health and well-being through a developmental lens. She explores the successes and challenges of emerging adulthood, a critical time of developmental transition that spans ages 18 to 29. Dr. Goldstein seeks to understand what it is about this time of life that contributes to involvement in risk and wellness behaviours, including distal and proximal psychosocial factors (such as attachment styles, relationships with parents, emotion regulation, and motives). Her work uses daily diary methods that fully integrate research in the daily lives of emerging adults through a mobile app, as well as qualitative methods that capture the life experiences of emerging adults. By linking research with practice, Dr. Goldstein aims to meet the unique needs of emerging adults as they navigate the transition into adulthood.
Becky (Xi) Chen
Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Literacy Development of Bilingual and Multilingual Children
Professor Chen and her research team are identifying factors that contribute to first- and second-language reading comprehension in the later elementary school years. In positing that the development of linguistic skills in one language enables reading skills in another, Chen is advancing a new theory of cross-language transfer. In addition, Chen is examining oral language and reading comprehension in minority-language children and children at risk for reading comprehension failure.
Chloe Hamza
Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Stress and Coping in Postsecondary Contexts
Although the post-secondary years are recognized as a period of both opportunity and vulnerability, little is known about the factors that impact the development of coping behaviours. In this context, Hamza aims to understand the processes by which post secondary students cope with distress. Professor Hamza will identify factors that predict the efficacy of coping strategies among emerging adults and clarify the role of day-to-day events in distress and coping. She will also engage students, faculty, and staff in developing evidence-informed resources to support student well-being. By informing educational policies and practices, Dr. Hamza’s research will promote student well-being on college and university campuses.
Kang Lee
Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Moral Development and Developmental Neuroscience
Why do children lie? Why do some children tend to lie past the age when lying typically decreases? Professor Kang Lee is leading an international team to address the development and expression of lying in early childhood using both survey data and novel neuroimaging methods. It is common for young children to lie, but motives behind lying, and the degree that lying persists differs significantly. Lying is also a poorly understood symptom of severe conduct problems in young children, and early intervention can reduce the risk of delinquency later in life. Professor Lee's research promises to identify strategies to encourage honesty in young children in a way that will have a lasting impact.
Sandra Styres
Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Iethi’nihsténha Ohwentsia’kékha (Land), Resurgence, Reconciliation and the Politics of Education
As highlighted in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's Calls to Action, educational institutions have long pushed Indigenous communities to the margins. How do we effect change, particularly when Indigenous students are still not receiving necessary supports? As Canada Research Chair in Iethi’nihsténha Ohwentsia’kékha (Land), Resurgence, Reconciliation and the Politics of Education Professor Sandra Styres will implement a strategic, community-based, and action-oriented plan for reconciliaction. She is building research collaborations with communities in New Zealand and Hawai’i that have initiated Indigenous resurgence movements within teacher education programs. She is also employing critical information from student demographics and Indigenous ways of knowing. Professor Styres' research will direct conversations around university governance, shape educational policy, and lay the groundwork for addressing Indigenous rights in the context of land-based resurgence and reconciliation.
Eve Tuck
Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Methodologies with Youth and Communities
Research has conventionally been enacted 'on' Indigenous peoples. The history of research in settler colonial contexts has been one of deception, exploitation, and coercion. In this context, working in good relation with Indigenous communities requires a complete re-envisioning of how and for whom research is produced. As Professor Eve Tuck considers how to engage Indigenous communities and other communities as co-creators of research. Her methodology is collaborative, participatory, and consultative from conception to knowledge mobilization. The work she conducts will be communicated through various accessible media, including photovoice projects, podcasts, and a digital and physical archive.
Endowed Chairs
Jennifer Jenkins
Atkinson Charitable Foundation Chair in Early Child Development and Education
Professor Jenkins is a distinguished and internationally recognized scholar, and a leader in the generation and dissemination of scientific knowledge in the field of child development and children’s mental health. She has conducted longitudinal cohort studies examining the interplay between biological vulnerability and high-risk environments and the cognitive and social-emotional development of preschool and school-aged children. She has a commitment to the dissemination of excellent quality, scientific knowledge to parents, educators and policy makers on a range of critical issues related to early childhood.
James (Jim) D. Slotta
Presidents' Chair in Education and Knowledge Technologies
This five-year term Chair is awarded to an OISE scholar with proven expertise in education, learning sciences, and technology, who has a reputation as a world leader in innovative knowledge building and a well-established network of international and national partners. Since 2005, Jim Slotta has directed the ENCORE lab - a team of students, designers and developers who investigate new models of collaborative and collective inquiry using media and technology, as well as the physical and virtual learning environments. Research projects are situated within smart classrooms and mobile technology environments, featuring user-contributed content, aggregated and emergent forms of knowledge, and a variety of technology scaffolds for the orchestration of individual, small group, and community activities. This work explores topics such as the nature of collective epistemology and knowledge building discourse, the role of immersive simulations, representations of community knowledge, learning across contexts, and tangible and embodied interactions for learning.
Samuel Lucas
William G. Davis Chair in Community College Leadership
Professor Samuel Lucas will build capacity in Ontario’s community college sector and contribute more broadly to scholarship, policy and practice in the college sector in Canada and in international scholarly and practitioner communities. He is known for his investigation of equal pathways to college within unequal societies; his theory of Effectively Maintained Inequality (EMI), has had a profound impact in the fields of sociology and education.
He is the author of four books in addition to numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He has also contributed to U.S. National Academy reports on inequality in education. A leader in research methodology, Professor Lucas received a Spencer Foundation Mid-Career Award in 2015 for “Advancing Tools for Advanced Social Science Research: Symbolic Mathematics, Agent-Based Modeling, Computer Programming, and Video Effects.”
Ontario Research Chair
Glen A. Jones
Ontario Research Chair in Postsecondary Education Policy and Measurement
Professor Glen A. Jones holds the Ontario Research Chair in Postsecondary Education Policy and Measurement for a seven-year term that began July 1, 2022. Ontario Research Chairs (ORC) are prestigious Ontario university research professorships established by the Ontario government to drive provincial research and develop excellence, create world-class centres of research, and enhance Ontario’s competitiveness in Canada’s knowledge-based economy. These Chairs are made possible by an endowment from the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities administered by the Council of Ontario Universities. Professor Jones’ extensive record of accomplishments and continuing scholarship in higher education systems and policy make him an ideal chair holder, whose term as ORC will promote and enrich the high-quality research, teaching and supervision in the Higher Education graduate program in the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education, and beyond.
Distinguished Professorships
Kathleen Gallagher
University of Toronto Distinguished Professor of Curriculum, Teaching & Learning
Professor Gallagher is a leading Canadian education scholar who invokes the power of theatre to educate students in elementary and high schools about complex social issues. She is known internationally for her research on youth civic engagement and artistic practice, and the pedagogical and methodological possibilities of theatre. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Professor Gallagher previously held two Canada Research Chairs. In 2017, she received a University of Toronto President's Impact Award for research impact beyond the academy. In 2018 she won the David E. Hunt Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching.
Creso Sá
Distinguished Professor in Science Policy, Higher Education, and Innovation
He is an interdisciplinary social scientist whose research examines the connections between science policy, higher education, and innovation. He is an internationally leading scholar whose work has been profiled and cited in Nature, The Scientist, the Times Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, The Hill Times, the Postmedia Network, and the Globe and Mail. Current research includes an investigation of dynamics of competition and collaboration in academic science in an international-comparative perspective
Marlene Scardamalia
University of Toronto Distinguished Professor of Knowledge Innovation & Technology
Over her long career, Professor Scardamalia has distinguished herself as an innovative, visionary scholar, and has made significant advances in Knowledge Building theory, pedagogy,and technology. She is an internationally recognized leader in education and knowledge technologies and the recipient of awards from the World Cultural Council, ORION, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, and the Ontario Psychological Association.