Cluster hiring at Waterloo

Waterloo plans to hire more Indigenous faculty, Black faculty through cluster hiring

The University of Waterloo has announced it will take a step in addressing the systemic underrepresentation of Indigenous and Black faculty at our institution with the launch of new cluster hiring initiatives that will see the addition of 10 new Indigenous and 10 Black faculty members.

“These initiatives are an important step in accelerating the progression of increased representation of Indigenous and Black faculty across the University,” said James Rush, vice-president, academic & provost. “Waterloo is committed to creating a sustainable and supportive environment for our entire community, and these hiring initiatives will bring us closer to realizing this goal.”

As restricted hiring opportunities, the cluster hiring initiatives follow the provisions for a special program as described by the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Waterloo’s current underrepresentation of Indigenous and Black faculty allows us to take this action.

“These necessary cluster hiring initiatives will fill important gaps in diverse ways of knowing, researching, and engaging community. There is so much for us to learn from scholars whose lived experience is rooted in First Nation, Inuit, Métis, and Black identities,” said Jean Becker, senior director, Indigenous initiatives, and interim associate vice-president Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion. “And, it is essential for young scholars to see others like them doing this important work.”

Recruitment for these new positions is open and will continue until all positions are successfully filled. The positions are open at the assistant professor/associate professor/professor levels, with the intention to recruit faculty at a range of career stages. Positions will be available for broad areas of research across all faculties. These cluster hiring initiatives are in addition to other equity-based hiring initiatives and are not meant to replace other opportunities. The fundamental purpose of the cluster hiring initiatives is to increase representation of Black and Indigenous faculty across the spectrum of Waterloo’s teaching and scholarship activities; while there may be some natural synergies with the current development of academic programming in the areas of Black Studies and Indigenous Studies, the cluster initiatives are not intended to recruit solely/primarily for these areas.

“I would like to acknowledge the leadership of all six deans in mobilizing these cluster hiring initiatives. We are working collaboratively with a variety of key stakeholders who have views and expertise that must be respected in increasing the representation of Black and Indigenous faculty to ensure effective recruitment, selection and onboarding of new faculty,” said Rush. “I would like to thank all those who have been involved in this process thus far and who will be in the future.”

For more information about this hiring initiative, please visit the cluster hiring initiatives page on the Provost’s website.

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