Learn more about the inaugural cohort of the Postdoctoral Fellowship for Black Scholars here.
TMU is privileged to welcome these bold thinkers. Ancestral knowledge and diverse ways of knowing is key to building bridges between Black past, present and futures. When enabling environments are created for Black scholars to explore their passions, tap into ancestral knowledge and flourish, incredible things can happen.
The inaugural cohort was welcomed at a ceremony hosted by the Faculty of Community Services and the Black Scholarship Institute, earlier this month. The ceremony included a collective honouring of Black ancestors facilitated by Elder Nene Kwasi Kafele as well as performances of African drums and dance by the AdinkraFarm Ensemble and spoken word delivered by Coco LaRain Viera.
In addition to celebrating the arrival of Adu, Kerme, Kefale and Lewis, the event offered a beautiful congregation of community. It brought together President Mohammed Lachemi, Roberta Iannacito-Provenzano, Dean Kiaras Gharaghabi, Dean Cory Searcy, Tanya De Mello, Anver Saloojee, Patrizia Albanese, Annette Bailey, Grace-Camille Munroe, David Gauntlett, Josephine Wong, Sara Berman and other members of the Faculty Working Group, adjudication committee and champions across the university instrumental in bringing this fellowship to life.
Towards Black flourishing at TMU
More representative faculty and postdoctoral scholars leads to more representative, inclusive and culturally competent learning environments and research solutions. The university’s commitment to increasing representation of Black faculty, Afro-centric scholarship and Black studies promises to drive thought leadership and innovation, promoting better outcomes for everybody.
According to data from the OVPECI’s most recent Employee Diversity Self-ID, 21 percent of all new full-time faculty hires at TMU identified as Black. In 2023, TMU witnessed a 2 percent increase of Black tenure-stream faculty since the publication of the Climate Review. This postdoctoral fellowship is the latest in a suite of holistic and interdisciplinary initiatives undertaken by the PICCABR Faculty Working Group to continue strengthening the pipeline of prospective Black faculty at TMU.
Visit the website for more information on the PICCABR’s work to confront anti-Black racism and cultivate Black flourishing at TMU.