Objectives
The overarching objective of this plan is to advance equity, diversity and inclusion in the research and teaching award portfolios at the University of Calgary through the following actions:
Pilot plan launching October 2021
The University of Calgary Research and Teaching Awards Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Pilot Plan was developed to embed a foundational commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the identification and nomination of candidates for external research and teaching excellence awards.
The impetus for this approach is grounded in a significant and growing body of research, which has established the many ways in which equity, diversity and inclusion are integral to excellence in the 21st-century university. This research demonstrates that diversity makes us smarter, improves problem-solving enhances decision-making fuels creativity and drives innovation. Diverse and inclusive environments contribute to a more socially diverse academic and staff workforce, higher retention rates of faculty and improved collective research and teaching impact.
The intended audience includes faculty members who recruit, nominate, sponsor, mentor, and evaluate their peers for external awards, as well as senior institutional leadership, award committee members and staff who support these efforts.
Two documents are available for you to download for review:
If you have feedback that you would like to send outside of a planned faculty session, please email the drafting committee or fill out the feedback form.
The Pilot plan was developed collaboratively, with leadership from Dr. Malinda Smith, PhD, Vice-Provost (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) and Associate Vice-President (Research - EDI); Dr. Leslie Reid, PhD, Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning); and Dr. Robert I. Thompson, PhD, Associate Vice-President (Research).
The Drafting Committee drew its membership from groups across campus with expertise in EDI issues and awards.
If you have questions, please review the FAQ on this page. If you require additional information, please contact the drafting committee or fill out the feedback form.
The overarching objective of this plan is to advance equity, diversity and inclusion in the research and teaching award portfolios at the University of Calgary through the following actions:
Identify and address barriers to equity, diversity and inclusion in current research and teaching awards for talent identification, nomination and selection processes
Identify practices that increase opportunities, and advance equity, diversity and inclusion in research and teaching award nominations, selection, and related processes
Establish a culture of inclusive excellence, and recognition that is equitable and inclusive of equity-deserving groups and diverse scholarly disciplines
Identify supports and resources required to implement the plan
In the short-term, this plan will provide a framework and guidance to enable the university’s faculties and central administrative offices to:
Increase the diversity of our pool of nominees for external research and teaching awards, to be reflective of the diversity on our campus and inclusive of all equity-deserving groups
Develop and incorporate inclusive practices in the identification of nominees for external teaching and research awards
Work with the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Institutional Analysis to access data on faculty members and equity-deserving groups that can be combined with research and teaching awards data to establish targets and track progress on objectives
Co-Chairs
Support Staff
“When proactive measures are taken to identify and remove systemic barriers and biases and to increase accountability, more diverse cohorts of excellent researchers [and teachers] are nominated…. The bottom line is there is no antagonism between diversity and excellence.”
Malinda S. Smith, PhD, LLD (Hons) et al., 2019
We welcome questions or feedback on the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research and Teaching Awards pilot plan. We will be revising the plan based on consultation and feedback from the campus community iteratively throughout the 2021-22 academic year.