Description

Thompson Rivers University (TRU) invites applications for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC), tenure-track or tenured position at the rank of assistant or associate professor, in the area of the Economics of Climate change, Disasters, and Inequality.

Climate change resulting from the atmospheric accumulation of anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas emissions is a serious problem of our times. The social and economic impacts of climate change and, climate change induced natural disasters are unevenly distributed regionally, nationally, internationally, and inter-generationally. The impacts of climate induced disasters, such as forest fires and floods, have been especially felt recently in the interior of British Columbia, the region that TRU and its partners in the Interior Universities Research Coalition (UNBC and UBCO) serve. The Department of Economics, Gaglardi, and TRU are committed to providing research on these impacts for the region, British Columbia, Canada, and the world. Research on the distributional impacts of climate change, disasters, and related public policies will help inform future policy-making to ensure a more equitable and just future.

The Government of Canada has established the CRC program as a means of enabling Canadian universities to sustain leading edge research excellence. The proposed CRC aligns with two of TRU’s institutional research priorities of understanding and responding to climate change and contributing to greater social cohesion and sense of belonging through a commitment to social justice and equity. The candidate’s research should address the unequal distributional impacts of climate change, policy and disasters. Possible areas for the CRC’s research program focus are:

The damages of climate change on the region, nation, and globe.
The economic cost and distributional impacts of natural disasters.
The impact of climate change on equity-deserving or economically disadvantaged groups.
The impact of climate change on Indigenous communities.
Preserving the well-being of communities disproportionally affected by climate change.
Valuing the loss of the natural environment due to climate change.
The economic and social justice implications of climate change.
Distributional impacts of public policies related to climate change and/or disasters.
Impacts of climate change and climate policies on labour market outcomes.

The Department of Economics and the Gaglardi School of Business and Economics have a long history of excellent teaching and research in environmental economics, public policy, environment, social and corporate governance (ESG), and sustainability. Gaglardi offers a wide array of undergraduate certificate, diploma, and degree programs in business and economics. At the graduate level, it offers a research-based MSc in Environmental Economics and Management degree, as well as a course-based Masters in Environmental Economics and Management degree. In addition, it offers an MBA degree which contains research-based options. The Department of Economics currently has a complement of 9 tenured research stream faculty, many with research focused on issues related to sustainability. Gaglardi funds a Sustainability Research Cluster with participation of faculty across the school, institution, and faculty at UNBC and UBCO.

The CRC in the Economics of Climate Change, Disasters, and Inequality will have significant opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborative research with other TRU faculties and research groups, such as the newly formed Institute for Wildfire Science, Adaptation, and Resiliency. There are opportunities to supervise research students in the MSc in Environmental Economics and Management, the MSc in Environmental Science, the MBA, and the MSc in Data Science.

The successful candidate will receive a conditional offer for the position at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor, with rank and tenure status determined as part of the hiring process. TRU will nominate the candidate for Tier 2 CRC to the Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat. Upon approval of the nomination, the university will confirm the offer with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2025.

About Thompson Rivers University
TRU provides many paths for learning to regional, national, and international learners. Research, creation and innovation are integrated into teaching and learning in over 140 on-campus programs and 60 programs in our Open Learning Division. TRU is one of the six research universities in British Columbia (Research Universities Council of BC) and a member of the Interior Universities Research Coalition.

Thompson Rivers University's spectacular main campus is at the heart of Kamloops, British Columbia, a small city of over 100,000 in BC's sunny interior, where we enjoy four seasons of outdoor adventures, a rich cultural scene and a vibrant, diverse campus community. We recognize that our Kamloops campus is situated on the traditional and unceded territory of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc. We are committed to recognizing and respecting these lands and the ongoing relationships with Indigenous peoples in our academic and community endeavors.

Equity Statement
Through official policy and plans (TRU Policy ADM 04-1 and TRU’s CRC Equity Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan), TRU is firmly committed to the principles of employment equity, employing people without regard to ancestry, including colour and perceived race; nationality or national origin, religion or creed or religious belief, religious association or activity; age; sex, including pregnancy; gender identity, sexual orientation, political belief, physical or mental disability, or social disadvantage. While remaining alert and sensitive to the issue of fair and equitable treatment for all, TRU has a special concern with the participation and advancement of members from designated groups identified by the CRC program as having been previously disadvantaged in employment: women, racialized communities, Indigenous/Aboriginal peoples, LGBTQS2 and persons with disabilities. We believe that ensuring equity, diversity and inclusion with both the Canada Research Chairs Program and the research enterprise more broadly will lead to the creation of an innovative and impactful research environment that will seize opportunities and respond to global challenges.

TRU encourages applications from those who would contribute to the further diversification of our faculty and its scholarship including but not limited to women, visible minorities, Indigenous persons and persons with disabilities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority.

The search, interview, and selection process will be informed by the CRC program’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and Creating an Equitable, Diverse and Inclusive Research Environment: A Best Practices Guide for Recruitment, Hiring and Retention.

If candidates require accommodation supports during the search process, please contact TRU People and Culture: TotalRewards@tru.ca.

The Canada Research Chairs Program requires institutions to collect self-identification data from all applicants, following the program's best practices. This data is important to the University's ability to ensure that researchers from diverse groups are able to benefit from participation in the program. All applicants to this CRC opportunity are required to complete TRU's Diversity and Inclusion survey.

Requirements

The successful candidate must have:

A Ph.D. in Economics or an adjacent discipline awarded within the past ten years.
A proven track record in research related to climate change, environmental economics or natural resource economics, particularly addressing issues of inequality.
Experience with the development of a successful independent research program.
Potential for excellence in teaching, training, and mentoring students.
Potential to secure significant external funding.
A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The requisites to qualify for the Canada Research Chair program.

Chairs are awarded by the Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat after a rigorous evaluation, and award decisions are expected in the Spring of 2025. If the successful candidate satisfies the specific eligibility conditions of the program, the candidate may be supported by the university for nomination to a Tier 2 CRC, which provides significant protected time for research within a full-time academic appointment. The final appointment will be conditional on a successful nomination. Rank and salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Applicants must be emerging world-class scholars who have demonstrated research creativity, have demonstrated the potential to achieve international recognition in their fields in the next five or ten years, and, as chairholders, have the potential to attract, develop and retain excellent trainees, students, and future researchers.

Applicants who are more than 10 years from having earned their highest degree (and where career breaks exist, such as maternity, parental, or extended sick leave, clinical training, etc.) will have their eligibility for a Tier 2 Chair assessed through the program’s Tier 2 justification process. Please contact Shannon Wagner at vpr@tru.ca for more information.

TRU acknowledges the potential impact that career interruptions and personal circumstances can have on an applicant’s record of research achievement. We encourage applicants to explain the impact of any such interruption in their submission. Measures, including equity training on recognizing and combating unconscious, implicit, overt, prejudicial and other kinds of bias, are in place to ensure that these interruptions will be taken into careful consideration during the evaluation process. The Canada Research Chairs website also provides full information https://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/program-programme/nomination-mise_en_candidature-eng.aspx

Application

Application Deadline: May 15, 2024

Application materials should include:

A cover letter with an overview of the candidate's credentials, qualifications, and research strengths, including an explanation of how they satisfy the CRC nomination criteria (please indicate in your cover letter if you are a member of an equity-seeking group and if you are a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident).
A detailed curriculum vitae.
A three-page outline of the applicant's proposed five-year research program in the economics of climate change, disasters, and inequality.
A one-page summary of the applicant's three most significant research contributions to date.
A teaching statement that documents the applicant’s experience in and approach to training and mentoring diverse students and includes the applicant’s teaching philosophy.
A one-page statement identifying strengths and experiences in promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Names and contact information for three referees.

Potential applicants who have questions about the position are encouraged to contact Shannon Wagner at vpr@tru.ca for more information.

Please note that reference and background checks, including credential and degree verification, may be undertaken as part of this recruitment process.

Please submit your application through TRU’s careers portal, www.tru.ca/careers

The search and hiring of this position are governed by LOU#3 in the TRU-TRUFA Collective Agreement (https://www.tru.ca/__shared/assets/trufacaapril12019tomarch31202245030.pdf

Thompson Rivers University

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