Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Creative Innovation & Leadership Faculty of Communication & Design

The Faculty of Communication & Design (FCAD) at Ryerson University invites applications for a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Creative Innovation & Leadership. The successful candidate will develop, with Ryerson University, the CRC application for the April 2017 deadline, with the goal of being appointed as an Associate or Full Professor and CRC in January 2018. This position is subject to final budgetary approval. The CRC program was established by the Government of Canada to enable Canadian universities to achieve the highest levels of research excellence in the global, knowledge-based economy. Tier 1 chairs, tenable for seven years and renewable, are for outstanding researchers acknowledged by their peers as world leaders in their fields. Information about the CRC program can be found at www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/.

Located in the heart of Toronto, one of the world’s most culturally and linguistically diverse cities, Ryerson University continues to build Canada’s innovation ecosystem and to drive economic development. Ryerson is on a transformative path to become Canada’s leading comprehensive innovation university, with high quality programs and scholarly, research and creative activities that extend beyond its walls. With a mission to serve societal need, and a long-standing commitment to engaging its community, Ryerson offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs. Distinctly urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the University has more than 43,000 students, including 2,500 master's and PhD students, nearly 3,000 faculty and staff, and more than 170,000 alumni worldwide. Research at Ryerson is on a trajectory of success and growth: externally funded research has more than doubled in the past four years. Ryerson has more than 125 innovative research centres, institutes, and labs across a wide range of disciplines, and it is home to 19 Canada Research Chairs. For more information, please visit www.ryerson.ca.

An innovative crossroads for creative and scholarly disciplines, FCAD is Canada’s leading creative sector faculty and a vibrant and innovative cultural community. Home to nine professional schools and prestigious programs in media, creative industry and fine art, FCAD is the Creative Innovation Hub of Ryerson. With an extensive network of industry partners and creative content makers, FCAD excels in practice-oriented content creation and offers unique experiential programs in undergraduate and graduate study and learning zone opportunities. Groundbreaking scholarly research and creative activity at FCAD is at the heart of the evolution of cultural industries. Additional information is available at www.ryerson.ca/fcad/.

Sharing in FCAD’s commitment to the further growth and development of the creative and cultural economy, the CRC in Creative Innovation & Leadership will develop cutting-edge scholarly and practical knowledge that unites research in creative innovation, leadership, management, communication, and design to understand and improve the specific leadership and practice capabilities of creative innovation. In creative innovation, creative fields and disciplines play a central role.  Creative innovation yields products and services rich with meaning that have substantive impact on our lives and economy. Creative firms must master complex combinations of product, process, organizational and marketing innovation in a globalized digital economy and society.

Passionate about creative innovation and the cultural and creative sector, the successful candidate will continue to initiate, collaborate on, and lead world-class research on the creative development process, including leadership of creative products and processes, creative collaboration, experiential design and design thinking, experimentation with new formats and content delivery modalities, and interaction of highly engaged audiences with content. A PhD in a relevant discipline and evidence of an externally-funded, peer-reviewed, world-class research or creative program is required. The CRC will have a strong commitment to teaching and training, the ability to collaborate across disciplines, and the skills and reputation to build relationships in the creative, cultural and digital sectors, ideally based upon leadership experience in one of these fields. Candidates must have a demonstrated commitment to upholding the values of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion as they pertains to service, teaching, and scholarly research and creative activities.

The tenure track position falls under the Ryerson Faculty Association (RFA) jurisdiction (www.rfanet.ca/). For details on the Ryerson Faculty Association Agreement and the University’s RFA Benefits Summary, please visit www.ryerson.ca/teaching/agreements/rfa_agreement/ and

www.ryerson.ca/hr/benefits/benefits_by_group/rfa/index.html.

Applications should include a letter of interest (incorporating a brief research program plan), curriculum vitae, and the names of three references (who will not be contacted without consent of the candidate), and may be forwarded electronically, in confidence, to:

Laverne Smith & Associates Inc.

1 Yonge Street, Suite 1801

Toronto, Ontario M5E 1W7

RyersonFCAD-CRC@lavernesmith.com

Ryerson University is strongly committed to fostering diversity within our community. We welcome those who would contribute to the further diversification of our staff, our faculty and its scholarship including, but not limited to, women, visible minorities, Aboriginal people, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity.