In addition to teaching, many professors at York are engaged in research. Whether it is in the sciences, humanities, professional studies, or any other field, research can be a large undertaking, often using up lots of time and resources for professors.
There are a number of programs and supports designed to encourage an increased research output. The federal government funds individual research projects through what’s often called the tri-agencies — a collection of three area-specific funding agencies that researchers can apply to.
The tri-agencies also oversee a program called the Canada Research Chairs, which recognizes individual research leaders with a title and dedicated funding.
The university, for its part, has a similar program, which it dubs ‘York Research Chairs’ (YRCs). The program has recently appointed several news chairs, and the university is excited to support them, announced Amir Asif, York’s vice president of research and innovation.
Asif explains that there are two tiers of the program — Tier 1, which offers $25,000 annually to full professors, and Tier 2, offering $20,000 for emerging researchers.
“Research excellence is crucial for undergraduate education as it attracts and retains top faculty and enhances students’ critical thinking, communication skills, and overall academic foundation,” he says.
Speaking with Excalibur, both the newest and more well-established chairholders describe the program as a substantial boost for their research efforts.
Amy Muise, a professor of psychology and director of York’s Sexual Health and Relationships (SHaRe) Lab, was recently named a York Research Chair in Relationships and Sexuality. In a word, she describes the program as “impactful.”
Muise’s research in the SHaRe Lab involves applying “theories and methods from social psychology to understand how couples can have happier, more fulfilling relationships and more successfully navigate conflicts of interest.” As a YRC, she’ll be specifically looking at women’s experiences of sexism, and whether men’s practice of high-quality listening in a relationship — a construct consisting of “focused attention, understanding, and non-judgmental positive intention” — contributes to “men’s empathy, awareness of gender discrimination, and reduction in harmful gender-based attitudes.
“We think this new line of research will be important for both understanding a new route to reduction, as well as relationship dynamics that help maintain relationships,” she explains.
“The YRC allows me to allocate more time to research and to support my student’s research, provides me with more resources to run studies and apply for funding, and brings attention to the work that my students and I are doing,” Muise concludes.
Kristin Andrews, a professor of philosophy, has been a York Research Chair since 2017. Much of her research revolves around social understanding, animal cognition, and animal rights.
While doing more research can mean less teaching, Andrews says the YRC program “lets me teach a large number of people in a different way.” She explains that professors typically write scholarly articles and give conference presentations, but as a YRC, she has been able to “write popular books and magazine articles,” and even make appearances on podcasts, to reach a more general audience.
“I’m grateful to York for the opportunity to spend so much of my time on research and public outreach projects like these,” she says.
Being a York Research Chair also encourages Andrews to make practical use of her research by contributing to work on public policy. She’s worked on “guidelines for responsible research,” coordinated with teachers and administrators in the Toronto District School Board about curriculum, and most recently co-initiated a declaration on animal consciousness with broad policy implications.
Andrews describes this declaration, called The New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness, as a “statement that presented the changing scientific opinions” and the emerging evidence that invertebrates show subjective awareness.
“I met my main collaborator, Jeff Sebo of NYU … during my first year as a YRC,” she explains. Then, on a YRC-supported stay as a visiting professor at the London School of Economics, Andrews met her other main collaborator, Jonathan Birch, along with “a number of other people involved in the Declaration.”
“Having organizers from Canada, the US, and the UK allowed us to create a global team and launch the Declaration to the world. And the YRC made that possible,” Andrews says, gratefully.
