UNBC faculty awarded nearly $400,000 in Insight Grants

Three UNBC faculty members have been awarded nearly $400,000 in grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

In Geography, Dr. Gail Fondahl is studying legal reforms guiding indigenous territorial rights in Russia.

Dr. Ben Bryce, in the History department, is examining the role of immigrant run hospitals and mutual aid societies in Buenos Aires and in Education, Dr. Linda O’Neill is studying Indigenous approaches for evaluating Aboriginal community programs.

“Exciting news for us in terms of the funding that is coming to them to allow them to continue the great work that they’re doing and it continues to showcase that UNBC is doing cutting edge research that has impacts on a global scale,” says Interim Vice President Geoff Payne. “You can really see, just in those three successful grant applications, the depth and breadth of the types of research being conducted here.”

Payne says the money will benefit more than just the faculty.

“The other really exciting thing for us is not only for the faculty member but the individuals that get to work with those faculty members – students. Students, when they come to the university, have the opportunity to get engage with our faculty and get involved in research.”

The grants are awarded annually. Earlier this year, UNBC received $453,000 in Discovery Grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).