Position Description
Territory Acknowledgment
The University of Calgary (UCalgary), located in the heart of Southern Alberta, both acknowledges and pays tribute to the traditional territories of the peoples of Treaty 7, which include the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprised of the Siksika, the Piikani, and the Kainai First Nations) as well as the Tsuut'ina First Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda (including Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney First Nations). The university recognizes that the City of Calgary is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, districts 5 and 6. By virtue of the signing of Treaty 7 in 1877, the university recognizes that we are all treaty people. The City of Calgary is home to a diverse community. We share this land, strive to live together, learn, walk, and grow together "in a good way."
Position Overview
The Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary in collaboration with Cumming School of Medicine and Werklund School of Education, invites applications for a tenure-track transdisciplinary and community-based research and clinical practice academic position at the rank of Assistant Professor (Research), to begin July 1, 2024.
UCalgary is building momentum in research around child and youth mental health, family-engaged research, comorbidity in youth with chronic health issues, digital technology, and neurodevelopmental disability. Cumming School of Medicine, Community Health Sciences (CSM CHS), Werklund School of Education (WSE) and the Faculty of Social Work (FSW) are in strategic national networks such as the Kids Brain Health Network, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, CanCHILD and ENVISAGE (Canadian/Australian NDD partnership) which collectively heighten access to key leaders/scholars in child and youth mental health, child health, digital technology, and client-oriented research. WSE's CIHR CRC in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities in young adults will complement and collaborate in an interdisciplinary way. WSE will collaborate with research and professional outreach with the Centre for Wellbeing and Education.
This hire can support the FSW's and UCalgary's goals for advancing EDIA in our research. This role deeply supports and reflects UCalgary's commitment to action and impact in its values of transdisciplinary collaboration, equity, and integrity in applying DORA, i.e., engaged and impactful research within the community. This initiative further corresponds to the FSW Strategic Plan (2022-2027) priorities and the advancement of Impactful Research and Collaboration, Innovation, Equity, Racial Justice, Decolonization, and Inclusive Excellence.
The successful candidate's substantive area would be in social work practice in comorbidity in youth with chronic health issues and must have the demonstrated ability to contribute to the Faculty of Social Work Strategic Plan: https://socialwork.ucalgary.ca/about/strategic-plan-0
This successful Transdisciplinary Professorship will focus on child and youth mental health and family engaged research. Candidates with research areas in comorbidity in youth with chronic health issues or neurodevelopmental disability and advancements in practice with digital technology will also be considered. Engaging children and their families as partners in research studies is critical to delivering on the 'nothing about us without us' principle and community-driven commitments of UCalgary. A knowledge gap exists in understanding what models of engagement meet the needs of children with mental health issues and their families throughout the knowledge-to-action cycle.
This role is innovative and transformative. The candidate is positioned to be an international leader in developing and advancing models for engagement, system navigation and peer support among children with mental health issues and their family members. This candidate would study best practices, interventional approaches and mechanisms for advancing authentic lived experience and family engagement in research with transdisciplinary teams across all phases of the research process. Scholarship advancement on Family Engagement in Research will be advanced through ACHRI, UCalgary, and Azrieli Accelerator partnerships.
Exponentially advancing scholarship in this underdeveloped area will position UCalgary as a world leader in EDIA-based, child and youth mental health and family engaged research scholarship and inclusive research. This substantive area will deeply contribute to transdisciplinarity in child health scholarship by crossing all disciplinary areas of child mental health research at UCalgary.
The appointment is with the Faculty of Social Work, with cross-appointment opportunities with Cumming School of Medicine (CSM), Community Health Sciences (CHS) and the Werklund School of Education (WSE) at the University of Calgary. Successful candidates could hold a cross appointment to CHS and WSE.
For at least the first five years of their appointment, the successful candidate will dedicate 50% of their time to community-serving and transdisciplinary social work research in comorbidity in youth with chronic health issues or neurodevelopmental disability and advancements in clinical practice with digital technology. Attaining tri-council funding as principal investigator, submitting scholarly works to high-quality publications, and developing impactful knowledge engagement activities will be expected. This role will exponentially advance clinical practice and policy. This position will support UCalgary as a world leader in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Anti-Oppression and Accessibility scholarship and inclusive research. For 50% of the role, the Professorship will teach in undergraduate and graduate programs in the Faculty of Social Work, and provide service at the faculty and university level and within the profession.
Candidate Profile
The candidate must have education and skills, including:
Candidate Expected Competencies
The Transdiciplinary Professorships
The University of Calgary seeks to transform in the Health and Life Transdisciplinary areas of focus Professorships will bring new strengths to the University of Calgary, and the successful candidates will join a dynamic group of researchers who are engaged in the university's transdisciplinary strategy. This position will advance transdisciplinarity at UCalgary through collaborations and cross-appointments with other Faculties.
Aligning with UCalgary's Ahead of Tommorrow Strategic Plan, this work will directly address inclusion priorities and improve the quality of life for children with mental health issues and their families via ensuring a direct role in research. This role further supports several strategic research themes: 'Brain and Mental Health', 'Human Dynamics in a Changing World', 'Child Health and Wellness', and 'One Health' and sub-themes of deepening authentic partnerships for transformative change, and proactively addressing societal and Calgary/Alberta-based needs for sustainable, equitable, and inclusive engagement of equity-deserving groups at UCalgary and across campuses/research programs worldwide.
Transdisciplinary Strategy
The Faculty of Social Work is committed to creating a strong connection with community partners, government organizations, and other disciplines and academic institutions, students, and colleagues. The Faculty supports the implementation of the University of Calgary's Transdisciplinary strategy, and several other partners will support the successful candidate. It is anticipated that this person will work closely with potential partners such as the Cumming School of Medicine, Community Health Services; the Faculty of Arts; Werklund School of Education; the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI); Brenda Strafford Centre on Aging; O'Brien Institute for Public Health; School of Public Policy; Hotchkiss Brain Institute; Owerko Centre; Kids Brain Health Network; Imagine citizens; or others. Partners will work together to support and optimize the impact of this research across disciplines.
Substantial involvement with undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and community members will be offered. FSW offers resources supporting grant writing, journal publication, and other forms of knowledge translation and impact to ensure transformative scholarship. Transdisciplinary scholarship and deep impact will be nurtured by UCalgary partners as well as supporting partnerships beyond UCalgary (e.g., within the local, provincial, national and international NDD communities, engagement with key bodies in policy, government, and systems advancement). This will nurture transformative, impactful outputs and impacts.
The Faculty of Social Work will provide office space and supports as it would to any other faculty member.
ii' taa'poh'to'p – The University of Calgary Indigenous Strategy
Together in a Good Way: A Journey of Transformation and Renewal
ii' taa'poh'to'p guides UCalgary on its path of transformation, and communicates its commitment and responsibility for truth and reconciliation. The strategy is and will remain a living document within the institution, whereby progress will be monitored, and content and direction will be renewed through evaluation and evolution.
The Path of Reconciliation
The clear and compelling imperative for developing and realizing UCalgary's Indigenous Strategy is based on an authentic foundation of compassion encouraged through intercultural learning opportunities that promote awareness, education, and understanding. Building knowledge and understanding of Indigenous perspectives, worldviews, histories, cultures, and belief systems is essential to enabling and realizing steps toward true reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. UCalgary is committed to a position advanced by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that educational institutions are profoundly responsible for initiating, securing and sustaining reconciliation.
We take pride in our Faculty's Equity Action Strategy and our developing Indigenous Strategy, and its grounding to deepen our commitment to social justice, walking parallel paths, and adopting respectful approaches with Indigenous peoples. Our Faculty will advance with a deep awareness of our shared present and historical relations, including our professions' role in contributing to systemic racism toward Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island and its legacy of harms. In 2020, the Faculty of Social Work Kiipitakyoyis - Grandmother's Lodge was created with donor support to offer culturally appropriate supports to guide Indigenous students toward their social work degree. The Faculty of Social Work works with Elders and Knowledge Keepers regularly and dedicates funds to strengthen the presence of Elders in our programs. If the successful candidate is Indigenous, they will have support from various sources, including the UCalgary Circle of Advisors, Elders, the Taylor Institute, and the Vice-Provost (Indigenous Engagement) team. The Circle of Indigenous Scholars within the University of Calgary also supports Indigenous scholars individually and collectively. The Circle provides the opportunity for scholars to gather to address matters that are important to them, the Indigenous communities on campus, and wider Indigenous communities. As a circle, it provides peer connections and support to all participating scholars.
The Faculty of Social Work
We seek to recruit and retain a diverse and inclusive workforce that will create the future of social work. We are committed to fostering equity, diversity, inclusivity, and decolonization by cultivating an environment where people with various lived experiences, genders, interests, and talents feel welcome and supported. The Faculty of Social Work is committed to connecting strongly with community partners, government organizations, other disciplines and academic institutions, students and colleagues.
UCalgary's Faculty of Social Work has provided innovative social work education for over 55 years and is Canada's largest school of social work. We are consistently ranked among the top 15 research social work schools in North America regarding research productivity. Our research contributes to a greater understanding of complex social issues while making a difference in the lives of millions of people locally, nationally, and internationally.
The Faculty of Social Work comprises approximately 600 undergraduate students, 400 graduate students, 50 faculty members, and 30 staff. We are proud to offer a range of undergraduate and graduate social work programs across Alberta. The Faculty of Social Work has campuses in Lethbridge, Calgary, and Edmonton and beyond through nationally accredited blended learning programs to meet the needs of our diverse full-time students and working professionals. Through innovative delivery models, we also provide quality undergraduate education to rural and remote communities throughout the province, providing a curriculum with cultural and geographic relevance responsive to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit issues.
The Faculty of Social Work is involved in transdisciplinary work across the University of Calgary and globally. Our Faculty's research agenda is diverse. Some of our researchers focus on systemic and policy solutions to complex social problems. In contrast, others focus on applied research that improves the lives of individuals, families and communities and higher education teaching. Our innovative, transdisciplinary research demands meaningful community engagement focusing on social justice and human rights. We are committed to ensuring Indigenous ways of knowing are sustained, supporting decolonizing research, and building Indigenous research capacity. Our Faculty's research is integral to UCalgary's Ahead of Tomorrow strategy. It aligns with UCalgary's research strategies, particularly Human Dynamics in a Changing World and Brain and Mental Health.
For more information:
To explore this opportunity further, please contact [email protected] Ellen Perrault, PhD, Dean, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary.
To Apply
Interested individuals are encouraged to submit an application online via the 'Apply Now' link on UCalgary Careers (careers.ucalgary.ca). Please include:
The successful candidate's research profile must align with the aims of the Transdicilinary initative. The candidate's substantive area must deeply contribute to social work practice in comorbidity in youth with chronic health issues or neurodevelopmental disability and advancements in clinical social work practice with digital technology.
Only complete applications will be considered by the search committee. Please note the application process allows for only four attachments, which may require you to merge documents.
The closing date for applications is March 15, 2024.
The University of Calgary recognizes that candidates have varying career paths and that career interruption can be part of an excellent academic record. Candidates are encouraged but not required to provide any relevant information about their experience and/or career interruptions to allow for a fair assessment of their application. Selection committees have been instructed to carefully consider, and be sensitive to the impact of career interruptions when assessing the candidate's application.
As an equitable and inclusive employer, the University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here. In particular, we encourage members of the designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible/racialized minorities, and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. Questions regarding [diversity] EDI at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ([email protected]) and requests for accommodations can be sent to Human Resources ([email protected]).
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority. In this connection, at the time of your application, please answer the following question: Are you a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada? (Yes/No)
Additional Information
For a listing of all academic opportunities at the University of Calgary, view our Academic Careers website. For more information about the Faculty of Social Work.
About the University of Calgary
UCalgary is Canada’s entrepreneurial university, located in Canada’s most enterprising city. It is a top research university and one of the highest-ranked universities of its age. Founded in 1966, its 36,000 students experience an innovative learning environment, made rich by research, hands-on experiences and entrepreneurial thinking. It is Canada’s leader in the creation of start-ups. Start something today at the University of Calgary. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.
About Calgary, Alberta
Calgary is one of the world's cleanest cities and has been named one of the world's most livable cities for years. Calgary is a city of leaders - in business, community, philanthropy and volunteerism. Calgarians benefit from a growing number of world-class dining and cultural events and enjoy more days of sunshine per year than any other major Canadian city. Calgary is less than an hour's drive from the majestic Rocky Mountains and boasts the most extensive urban pathway and bikeway network in North America.