Black Faculty Cohort Hiring Initiative

Source: https://academic.ubc.ca/faculty-recruitment-retention/black-faculty-cohort-hiring-initiative Parent: https://academic.ubc.ca

UBC’s campuses are located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Syilx (Okanagan) Peoples and of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil- Waututh) Nations.

UBC’s vision is to inspire people, ideas and actions for a better world, and its purpose is to pursue excellence in research, learning and engagement to foster global citizenship and advance a sustainable and just society across British Columbia, Canada and the world. The University’s achieves its vision and purpose through five core values: excellence, integrity, respect, academic freedom, and accountability.

In support of its commitments to inclusive excellence in academia and research, the University of British Columbia has launched a Black Faculty Cohort Hiring Initiative to recruit up to 23 Black scholars over the next four years. Available positions are briefly described below with links to more details about the opportunities and application processes posted on relevant Faculty/School websites. Appointment ranks vary and, in some cases, consideration may be given to promising applicants who are very near completion of a doctorate degree by the time of the appointment.

Faculty of Applied Science:

• The Faculty of Applied Science comprises a unique constellation of disciplines, including engineering, architecture, nursing and planning, that span the entire human-centred built environment. As a Faculty, we are focused on developing innovative solutions that address complex and multifaceted global challenges, such as climate change, security, urbanization, resource management, housing, and social equality. The Faculty of Applied Science invites applications for three positions across areas of strategic focus that would take a multidisciplinary approach to address these urgent challenges.
• Details will be forthcoming and posted here: https://apsc.ubc.ca/faculty/career-opportunities

Faculty of Arts:

• The cluster in “Black Studies: Mobilities, Place-Making and Power” includes three positions across the Departments of Political Science, Geography, and Anthropology to support a Centre for Black Studies at UBC, which will be grounded in the principles of academic rigor, interdisciplinarity and community engagement. We are interested in recruiting faculty who, in their research, teaching, and community engagement, illuminate the myriad ways in which Black communities have borne the brunt of political, social and environmental injustices, challenged boundaries, sought to establish a sense of belonging, and laid claim to diverse political, cultural, social and place-based forms of power and ways of knowing.
• The cluster in “Black Informatics and Creative Arts” includes three positions in the School of Creative Writing, the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory, and the Information School. We are interested in recruiting faculty whose scholarly expertise, innovation, and developments are guided by and situated in Black thought. The cluster harnesses the polydisciplinarity of Black creativity, imagination, and cultural production as a way to engender dynamic flow amongst creative, research-based and theoretical practices to address some of the most timely issues of our day including AI, information, and data, while cultivating speculative imaginaries to envision different collective futures.
• Click here for more information and application details: https://www.arts.ubc.ca/about/black-faculty-cohort-hiring-initiative/

Faculty of Education:

• Assistant Professor (tenure-track) or Associate Professor (tenured) in the area of Teacher Education; this appointment will be housed in one of the academic units in the Faculty of Education that is most closely aligned with the successful candidate’s research focus.
• Assistant Professor (tenure-track) situated in one of the following academic units:Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS) or Department of Language and Literacy Education (LLED).
• Additionally, although not part of the BFCHI, the Faculty of Education also invites applications for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Black Experiences in and through Education, with an academic appointment as an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) or Associate Professor (tenured).
• Click here for more information and application details: https://educ.ubc.ca/education-careers/

Faculty of Forestry and Faculty of Land and Food Systems:

• There is an urgent global need to address questions about how to sustainably and equitably meet future demands for food, manufactured wood products, and energy, while maintaining biodiversity and ecological functions of forests and farmlands. A cluster of three new positions in Food, Forests and (Bio)Fuels would take an interdisciplinary approach to understanding these complex socio-ecological challenges and the future of bio-based systems.
• Click here for more information and applications details: https://forestry.ubc.ca/news/black-faculty-cohort-in-food-forests-and-biofuels/ and https://www.landfood.ubc.ca/black-faculty-cohort-in-food-forests-and-biofuels/

Allard School of Law:

• The Allard School of Law invites applications to join a dynamic and internationally diverse community of scholars and teachers. The law school seeks a senior research faculty member (with tenure), to be appointed at the rank of Associate Professor or Full Professor in any area of law.
• Click here for more information and application details: https://allard.ubc.ca/about-us/our-people/careers-allard-law

Faculty of Science:

• In the face of mounting global environmental challenges, including climate change and aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity loss, there is an attendant need for robust and interdisciplinary scholarship to understand, manage, and protect complex socio-environmental systems. A cluster of five new positions in Quantitative and Environmental Science aims to meet these pressing needs by contributing powerful science policy insights.
• Click here for more information and applications details: https://science.ubc.ca/blackscholars

Faculty of Medicine:

• The Faculty of Medicine is appointing a scholar in the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) to work in the area of global population health. The candidate’s research addressed both disease cause and prevention in the area of tropical diseases, communicable diseases, and infectious diseases. Their program of research fosters the evaluation of new population-based practices that address health challenges and inequities globally and informs healthy decision-making policies.
• Please note that this appointment is closed to applications and is provided for information.

Scholars will have the opportunity to engage with an expanding Black excellence ecosystem at UBC, including the African Studies Minor; emerging Black Studies Program; Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality & Social Justice; Beyond Tomorrow Scholars Program; Black Mental Wellness Project; Black Post Doctoral Fellow and PhD Bridging Program; Maximizing Impact – Early Career Researcher Development Program; IBPOC Connections Employee Resource Group; the Africa-UBC Ocean and Fisheries Visiting Fellows Program, and more.

Commitment to Equity, Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence

At UBC, we believe that a diverse campus community, inclusive learning and working environments, and equitable opportunities for community members to fully participate in the life and work of the university are foundational to cultivating a culture of respect and essential to fostering academic and research excellence.

In support of UBC’s vision and values, its Strategic Equity & Anti-Racism (StEAR) priorities, and its Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Task Force recommendations, and pursuant to Section 42 of the BC Human Rights Code, this search will be limited to qualified Black scholars. We welcome applications from Black scholars who may also identify as Indigenous Peoples (First Nation, Métis, Inuit), multi-racial persons, persons with disabilities, women, and/or members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

Commitment to Accessibility and Accommodations

The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible work environment for all members of its workforce. Within this hiring process we will make efforts to create an accessible process for all candidates (including but not limited to disabled people). Confidential accommodations are available on request – please email the listed Faculty/Departmental contact conducting the search process.

If you have any questions regarding accommodations or accessibility during the recruitment and hiring process or for more information and support, please visit UBC’s Centre For Workplace Accessibility website at https://hr.ubc.ca/health-and-wellbeing/working-injury-illness-or-disability/centre-workplace-accessibility or contact the Centre at workplace.accessibility@ubc.ca.

Refer to the relevant Faculty/School links above for information and how to submit your application.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Janice Stewart (Deputy Provost), Dr. Arig al Shaibah (Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion) or Alison Stuart-Crump (Senior Projects Manager, Office of the Vice-President, Academic).

Origin of Program

Inclusive excellence is a priority for UBC. In 2020, UBC pledged to advance the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion which is guided by four overarching principles: Black Flourishing, Inclusive Excellence, Mutuality, and Accountability. UBC’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force has also recommended the university develop a strategy to advance Black excellence (recommendation # 13). To meet these priorities, the university is taking an ecosystem approach to implementing a series of interrelated initiatives to promote and sustain Black Excellence.

The Black Faculty Cohort Hiring Initiative aims to increase representation of Black faculty across the spectrum of UBC’s teaching and scholarship activities. The program supports the recruitment of tenure-track and tenured professors at all ranks, including assistant, associate and full professors across both the research and educational leadership streams. This initiative is aligned with strategy #4 of our strategic plan, with recommendation #2 from the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force Report (Increasing recruitment and retention of Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour faculty) and goal #1 of UBC’s Inclusion Action Plan, and is guided by UBC’s Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism (StEAR) Framework. The initiative is being advanced in consultation and collaboration with a network of Black faculty.

The program encourages cohort hires, recognizing the ways in which this promotes interdisciplinary collaborations and helps create communities of support for scholars from underrepresented groups.

With approval from UBC’s Board of Governors in April 2021, Academic Excellence Funding has been provided to match faculty contributions (50/50 split, up to $75k annually) for the hiring of a number of Black faculty members each year. Funding for each hire is available for up to seven years.

Summary of Proposals

Following the launch of the program in February 2023, the following Black Faculty Cohort Hiring Initiative proposals have been approved, with a total of 23 new Black scholars anticipated to be hired over the next 4 years:

• Faculty of Applied Science: 3 hires across areas of strategic focus (details forthcoming)
• Faculty of Arts: 3 hires across the Departments of Political Science, Geography, and Anthropology to support the development of a Black Studies Centre at UBC. This cluster in Black Studies: Mobility, Place-Making and Power focuses on how diverse Black people and communities navigate evolving physical, social and political environments that present significant racialized challenges while also finding and mobilising resources for Black resistance, empowerment and success.
• Faculty of Arts: 3 hires in the Departments of Creative Writing, Art History, Visual Art and Theory, and the Information School supporting the creation of a research cluster in Black Informatics and Creative Arts.
• Faculty of Education: 2 hires with one situated within the Teacher Education program.
• Faculty of Forestry and Faculty of Land and Food Systems: There is an urgent global need to address questions about how to sustainably and equitably meet future demands for food, manufactured wood products, and energy, while maintaining biodiversity and ecological functions of forests and farmlands. This cluster of 3 new hires in Food, Forests and (Bio)Fuels would take an interdisciplinary approach to understanding these complex socio-ecological challenges and the future of bio-based systems.
• School of Law: 3 hires in possible areas such as, disability law, health law, intellectual property law, and/or in artificial intelligence and data privacy.
• Faculty of Medicine: A targeted hire in the School of Population and Public Health in the area of global population health, specifically an epidemiology-trained scientist with expertise in implementation science and new approaches to reduce health inequities for population global health.
• Faculty of Science: In the face of mounting global environmental challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, there is a need for robust scholarship to elucidate and manage complex socio-environmental systems. The Faculty proposes 5 new hires to support a cluster in Quantitative and Environmental Science.

Principles

The following overarching principles help guide this hiring initiative:

1. The initiative aims to foster the breadth and diversity of scholarship undertaken by Black scholars, springing from the recognition that this is of far-reaching benefit.
2. The initiative contributes to a just, equitable, diverse and inclusive academic and research environment at UBC for the benefit of all learners, university stakeholders, and fields of knowledge.
3. The initiative will recognize excellence, as defined in UBC’s strategic plan, in diverse forms of scholarship and ways of knowing, and seek to support scholars across a wide range of academic disciplines and knowledge/inquiry traditions.
4. It is expected that search processes will follow all equity, diversity and inclusion recruitment guidelines and search committees must include diverse representation.
5. Nothing for us, without us: Search committees are expected to be Chaired or co-Chaired by a Black faculty member. Where Black faculty representation within the unit is limited, committees are encouraged to consider interdisciplinary representation.
6. Career success of hired candidates is a key priority and all proposals must include plans to support career advancement.
7. Hiring decisions should be based on a candidate’s record of achievement, the context of their work to date, and their future potential and must not discriminate against Black candidates who may face disproportionate barriers to early career development.
8. In accordance with UBC’s Employment Equity Plan and pursuant to Section 42 of the BC Human Rights Code, this is a strategic hiring initiative limited to Black faculty.

Guidelines

The initiative is open to proposals from all Departments, Units, and Faculties on the UBC Vancouver campus. The Principal Applicant may be a Dean, Department Head, or Unit Head. While collaborative proposals from one or more departments, units or faculties are encouraged it is not a requirement. Proposals must be approved and signed off by the Principal Applicant’s Dean (if more than one Faculty is involved, all Deans must sign off).

The initiative encourages cohort hire proposals. For the purposes of this initiative, a cohort may be defined as either:

• The hiring of three or more faculty members across multiple departments, units or faculties organized around an interdisciplinary topic.
• The hiring of three or more faculty in a single department or unit.

Where appropriately justified, the initiative will consider the targeted hiring of a single Black scholar where it is demonstrated as an opportunity to recruit an excellent candidate.

Cohort hire proposals which include the hiring of faculty across ranks (e.g., Assistant, Associate, Full) and/or streams (educational and research) will be prioritized. This helps ensure the service burden placed on IBPOC faculty is not felt solely by Assistant-level scholars, and recognizes the importance of hires who could act in the important role of mentor. However, it is recognized that in some disciplines it may be difficult to recruit senior-level faculty and a cohort of several Assistant Professors may be more appropriate.

Please note, any potential partner hires will be funded through the regular funding mechanisms and not via the Black Faculty Cohort Hiring Initiative.