KBRS is pleased to have assisted the selection committee in the appointment of Dr. Barrington Walker as Wilfrid Laurier University’s new Senior Advisor: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), effective January 1, 2020.
Read an excerpt from the University’s official announcement, released October 24, 2019, below:
Waterloo – Wilfrid Laurier University has appointed a senior advisor for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) to develop a comprehensive strategy aimed at enhancing and building a culture of support for EDI at the university.
Barrington Walker, currently an associate professor at Queen’s University, will begin his five-year appointment Jan. 1, 2020. As part of this appointment, he has been appointed as a tenured professor in Laurier’s Department of History.
“We are pleased that Barrington Walker is joining the university in this important role,” said Maureen Mancuso, interim provost and vice-president: academic. “The new role will enhance Laurier’s efforts in fostering an equitable, diverse and inclusive community, as outlined in Laurier’s strategic plan. We welcome the experience, expertise and leadership that Barrington will bring to our EDI initiatives.”
The senior advisor role was established with support from Laurier’s federal EDI Institutional Capacity-Building Grant. These grants are designed to help institutions work toward identifying and eliminating systemic barriers impeding the recruitment, retention and advancement of underrepresented groups. The funding is part of the Dimensions: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Canada program, a national strategy providing $5.3 million to 15 Canadian academic institutions to address EDI.
“I am excited to join Wilfrid Laurier University at this crucial juncture it its history," said Walker. "I look forward to becoming a part of this vibrant community and championing the institution’s academic vision through an EDI lens in my new role."
As senior advisor: EDI, Walker will lead the creation of a university-wide EDI strategy and provide expertise, guidance, mentorship and support to faculty and staff working toward EDI-related goals.
Walker has been a member of the Department of History at Queen’s University since 2002, where he has written about and taught Canadian social history; African-American history, especially in the American South; and relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in North America.
Laurier’s focus on fostering an equitable, diverse and inclusive community spans many university initiatives. The university has a Canada Research Chairs Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan in place and supports a number of groups working on EDI-related issues, such as the Laurier Centre for Women in Science; the Centre for Indigegogy, which focuses on decolonizing education; and the Laurier Centre for Community Research, Learning and Action and Social Innovation Research Group, which both focus on inclusive, community-engaged research.
