Dec. 13, 2017
UCalgary's newest Indigenous leader will champion our Indigenous Strategy and advocate for change across campus
Michael Hart
After an extensive international search, I am pleased to announce that Dr. Michael Hart has been appointed vice-provost (Indigenous engagement) for a five-year term (renewable), effective June 1, 2018. He will serve as a key champion and advocate for the Indigenous Strategy at the University of Calgary, which was approved in October by the General Faculties Council and the Board of Governors and was formally launched on Nov. 16, 2017. Dr. Hart will be a strong and visible role model for everyone, but in particular for our Indigenous scholars and students.
Dr. Hart’s career has been focused on Indigenous Peoples and ways of helping that will enable the University of Calgary to realize its goals for indigenization on our campuses. His approach is about connecting with and learning from Indigenous elders and traditional knowledge keepers to explore how these philosophies can guide us, transcend boundaries and take incremental steps to change the conversation between different cultures.
Since 2012, Dr. Hart has held a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Knowledges and Social Work through the University of Manitoba. He has also held the role of acting director of the Master of Social Work in Indigenous Knowledges program at the University of Manitoba.
For the past 17 years, he has been a board member for the Aboriginal Social Workers’ Society in Manitoba, and was a founding committee member. His work has spanned multiple provinces, including Manitoba, Quebec and Yukon.
Hart holds a BSW, MSW and PhD in Social Work from the University of Manitoba, as well as a BA in Psychology from the University of Manitoba.
Among a number of accountabilities, Hart will build meaningful partnerships and collaborations with faculties, units and Indigenous communities in Alberta; foster mentorship, research and scholarship, and support services for Indigenous students, faculty and staff; and design, develop and implement relevant programming for non-Indigenous students and campus community members.
The Advisory Search Committee, which represents a broad stakeholder group, was struck in Spring 2017 and conducted an extensive search for the right candidate. Special thanks to all members of the committee, which included Annie Katzenberg (vice-president research representative), Shawna Cunningham (academic staff representative), Mary-Ellen Tyler (TUCFA representative ), Jackie Sieppert (decanal representative), Susan Barker (provost team representative), Heather Smith-Watkins (MaPS representative), Tessa Bailey (AUPE representative), Hilary Jahelka (SU representative), Taha Afyouni (GSA representative), Aruna Srivastava and Graham McCaffrey (GFC representatives) and Reg Crowshoe (Elder representative).
Read more about the Indigenous Strategy.
Dru Marshall
Provost and Vice-President (Academic)