Honourable Gail Shea announces new Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) at UPEI
The Honourable Gail Shea, Canada's Minister for Fisheries and Oceans, on behalf of the Hon. Ed Holder, Minister of State for Science and Technology, formally announced today the awarding of a new Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Young Lives in Global & Local Contexts at the University of Prince Edward Island. The chair was awarded by the CRC Secretariat and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to Dr. Kate Tilleczek, a Professor in the Faculties of Education and Arts (Sociology/Anthropology) at UPEI. Dr. Tilleczek is also an Adjunct Research Scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.
'Our government is proud to work with the University of Prince Edward Island in building research excellence,' said Hon. Gail Shea, Regional Minister for Prince Edward Island. 'The Canada Research Chairs are driving innovation, addressing health, environmental and social issues, and spurring economic growth in our community - all of which serve to improve the lives of Canadians.'
Dr. Tilleczek first came to UPEI five years ago to take up a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Child/Youth Cultures and Transitions. This new Tier 1 Chair reflects her expanded research program and portfolio. She is the founding director of UPEI's Young Lives Research Lab, which houses the CFI-funded Qualitative Research Lab. She works with provincial governments and communities across Canada, and beyond, conducting and mobilizing research into practices aimed at enhancing the lives of children and youth.
'I am most privileged to have been awarded this Tier 1 CRC and honoured to work with so many excellent teams of colleagues and students,' said Dr. Kate Tilleczek, Canada Research Chair in Young Lives in Global & Local Context. 'My research aims to bear witness to the ways in which modern societies treat our youngest members, especially those who are made marginal. I focus on three important social systems: public education, technology, and mental health. I seek to describe how they function in young lives over time, place, and context and to share research findings with those who are positioned to better support children and youth.'
'Dr. Tillezcek's work is just outstanding. I'm continuously proud that she's part of the UPEI research community,' said Dr. Robert Gilmour, Vice-President Research and Graduate Studies at UPEI. 'From her work with young people's mental health and well-being, to the Wekimun school she is creating for and with the indigenous people of Chile, she is a credit to UPEI.'
'Dr. Tilleczek's work reflects each of UPEI's four strategic priorities-student experience, vibrant communities, exploration and discovery, and long-term sustainability,' said Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, President and Vice-Chancellor of UPEI. 'She is the very best of what we do. I want to congratulate Dr. Tilleczek on behalf of the University of Prince Edward Island.'
The Canada Research Chairs Program was created with an annual budget of $300 million to establish up to 2,000 research professorships across the country and to position Canada as a world leader in post-secondary research. The program currently supports researchers, in more than 70 Canadian post-secondary institutions, who are conducting research in natural sciences and engineering, health sciences, and social sciences and humanities disciplines.
For information:
Dave Atkinson, Research Communications, UPEI
(902) 620-5117
