Vancouver Island University

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Research With a View

Vancouver Island University (VIU), located in Nanaimo on beautiful Vancouver Island, is a unique, primarily undergraduate, degree-granting institution. VIU is currently searching for a:

Canada Research Chair, Tier II

Theme 1 - Indigenous Community Engagement / Theme 2 - Aboriginal Education

VIU is a teaching-intensive university with approximately 8,000 FTE students in a wide range of programs. Over 10% of our students are of Aboriginal ancestry. We are proud of our community connections and our strong history of providing programs to students in our region. A particular strength is serving Aboriginal students and communities from the mid-Island and the northern coast of B.C.

Duties:

As part of its continuing evolution, and in concert with its Academic Plan, Vancouver Island University seeks to fill a Canada Research Chair position with an outstanding emerging innovative scholar from one of the following two thematic groupings: 1) Indigenous Community Engagement, or 2) Aboriginal Education. Applicants with expertise in either of these two groupings are encouraged to apply. We are interested in applicants who show strong leadership skills, have action research experience, have engaged in innovative programs with Aboriginal and First Nation partners, have a commitment to undergraduate education, research, teaching and learning, as well as to Aboriginal groups and communities.

Theme 1: Indigenous Community Engagement - Applicants in this thematic grouping are committed to applying Indigenous ways of knowing and Indigenous research principles, protocols and methods to projects that take them beyond simple community consultation into a process of working collaboratively to build genuine partnerships based on mutual respect and active and inclusive community participation and equity. The potential fields of study are many and include, for example, community health, community planning, governance, education, language revitalization and community engagement itself.

Theme 2: Aboriginal Education - Applicants in this thematic grouping are committed to a dialogue on the current challenges and opportunities for Aboriginal students, applying Aboriginal ways of knowing to education, and identifying cultural, community and social development opportunities to support success for Aboriginal students in education. As VIU has a research chair in Aboriginal Early Childhood Development, we encourage applications that builds the continuum with a research program in the K-12 or post-secondary education system in this call.

The Chair will have the academic qualifications to work with faculty from a range of disciplines within the university in order to advance a scholarly and teaching program that serves Indigenous communities and our students, especially Indigenous students. In achieving these goals, the Chair will help build relationships, solidify connections and generate research partnerships between the university and Indigenous communities that will contribute to the knowledge bases of both and further enhance understanding between the two.

It is envisioned that this CRC will also contribute to VIU Master's degrees that are already offered, or to the development of new Master's degrees as appropriate within the Academic Plan, and to other inter-/multi-disciplinary initiatives at the undergraduate level.

Candidates must demonstrate commitment to teaching, learning and student success through scholarship and institutional service. Successful candidates will participate in a wide range of activities outside the classroom, including student support; institutional, faculty and departmental committee meetings and other initiatives; and professional activities in keeping with their disciplines in and outside the institution.

Required Qualifications:

The Canada Research Chairs program expects Tier II nominees to: be within 10 years of having received a PhD (or the highest degree in their discipline); be excellent emerging 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; be proposing an original, innovative research program of high quality; and, as a chairholder, have the potential to attract excellent trainees, students and future researchers.

In addition to the CRC requirements, VIU is looking for: demonstrated leadership skills in developing solid working relationships with Aboriginal agencies, groups, and communities locally, regionally, and provincially; research activities undertaken in partnership with Aboriginal communities using innovative programs and culturally appropriate research methods; research network development; demonstrated commitment to knowledge mobilization; demonstrated research ability with a potential for developing new areas of collaborative research; experience in teaching or supervising students.

Preferred Qualifications:

Previous successful teaching at the post-secondary level.

Application Details and Instructions:

This regular, full-time appointment will be made effective April 01, 2014.  The actual start date is flexible, but earliest start date is dependent upon approval by Canada Research Chair Secretariat. The workload for this position will be 75% Research / 25% Teaching.

This posting period for this research opportunity (#13-4040) will remain open until May 23, 2013.  Please submit:

CV/Resume

Cover Letter

Research Plan Concept (2-3 pages)

Short-listed candidates must provide original transcripts, or applicable original certifications at time of interview.

Vancouver Island University supports an online application system.  Visit viu.ca/HumanResources/postings for more information.  Requests for details or assistance can be directed to recruit@viu.ca.

IMPORTANT: As this is a Canada Research Chair position, the application procedure is more involved than that described in the standard link on the VIU website. Please follow specific application procedures for this position found at this link: http://viu.ca/research/researchchairs/CRC2013.asp