November 22

This 30-minute yoga session is perfect for all experience levels, and will provide a positive, energizing start to your day and conference! We will begin with a light warm-up, followed by sun salutations and core exercises, and finish with full-body stretching. (Given the conference theme, there could even be a bridge pose or two….) Bring water, a yoga mat or towel, and wear comfortable clothing.

Instructor Michelle Nevett is a Can-Fit-Pro certified Group Fitness Instructor with 8+ years of experience teaching a variety of group fitness classes and small group training. She is also a Research Program Manager at St. Clair College.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) are committed to supporting and promoting high-quality research in a wide variety of disciplines and areas. This involves working collaboratively on the development and implementation of a variety of Tri-Agency programs, initiatives and policies that foster the creation and application of new knowledge within the broader Canadian research landscape.

Join agency representatives for a presentation on recent programs, initiatives and policies, with a focus on key progress updates, next steps and outcomes. Topics for discussion include but are not limited to:

• Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide
• Canada Research Coordinating Committee
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Research Data Management Strategy

Jeffery Hewitt

What does it mean to “decolonize” and “indigenize” our research and research offices? How are these processes our responsibility as research administrators? Where do we begin? Jeffery Hewitt will offer a Cree perspective, drawing examples from University of Windsor responses to these questions.

Bio: Jeffery Hewitt (Cree) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law. His research interests include Indigenous legal orders and governance, constitutional and administrative law, human rights and remedies, business law, art and law. He teaches constitutional law.

Professor Hewitt has served as Visiting Scholar and McMurtry Fellow at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University as well as adjunct faculty at both Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law; was the 2015 Charles D. Gonthier Fellowship from the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice; and a 2013/14 McMurtry Fellow at Osgoode Hall Law School examining the relationship between Indigenous art and law; is past-President of the Indigenous Bar Association of Canada; and since 2002 served as General Counsel to Rama First Nation during which time General Counsel’s office received a 2011 Canadian General Counsel Award for Social Responsibility for work with First Nation Elders and youth.

Professor Hewitt holds an LLB and LLM from Osgoode Hall Law School and is called to the Bar in the Province of Ontario (since 1998); has served on various boards, including Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto; and is currently on the executive of Legal Leaders for Diversity. Professor Hewitt has delivered numerous guest lectures at law schools as well as to both the judiciary and the legal profession in his areas of research.

Sally Gray

Indigenous-centred research is one way of supporting the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Research can be a vehicle through which Indigenous voices are heard and through which solutions to issues facing Indigenous peoples can be created and evaluated with a culturally-appropriate lens. However, we hear over and over again about the barriers to Indigenous-centred research, often as a clash between research expenses and reimbursement policies/procedures. This interactive conversation stream will allow participants to share issues but, hopefully, to also share solutions they’ve put into place at their own institutions.

Bio: Sally Gray is the Director of the Research Office at the University of Regina, a position she has held since July, 2014. She has worked in the field of research administration for 20 years and enjoys working with faculty across the institution, learning about their research interests and ensuring services are available to support faculty in their scholarly activities. She has an undergraduate degree in medieval studies and a Masters in religion and culture.

Outside of the university, Sally is a fibre artist working in multiple media. Two years ago she was able to take a tapestry weaving internship with master weaver Maximo Laura, from the Quechua people of Peru. Maximo has been designated one of Peru's Living Treasures, a UNESCO award given to an artist whose role is to preserve and elevate the culture of their homeland. The internship offered a glimpse into the traditions of Andean culture and world views.

The University of Regina identifies Indigenization as an underlying theme of its strategic plan. The Research Office is examining what Indigenization might mean to the office as well as to the researchers it serves.

Dr. Charlene Y. Senn is a Professor of Psychology and Women’s and Gender Studies and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Sexual Violence at the University of Windsor. She is an expert on effective sexual violence interventions, particularly those developing women’s capacity to resist sexual assault. She created the Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act sexual assault resistance education program for women in the first year of university. Findings from the randomized controlled trial evaluation were published in 2015 in the New England Journal of Medicine. This 12-hr program resulted in a 46% reduction in completed rapes and 63% reduction in attempted rape experienced across one year, when compared with the control group. The program accomplishes this while reducing woman-blaming and self-blame.

With her co-investigators, Charlene is currently conducting a study of implementation and effectiveness of the program as it is offered at Canadian universities. In 2016, she created a non-profit (SARE Centre) to facilitate scale-up on campuses around the world. In this presentation, Charlene will explore her journey from small internally funded pilot studies, to increasingly more complex CIHR-funded studies, to “real world” implementation.

An update session on the many research programs offered to support research throughout Ontario with speakers from:

• Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE)

Hear more about OCE’s rich program offerings and the new research and collaboration opportunities that are becoming available as OCE moves into exciting new and emerging areas such as autonomous vehicles, next generation networks, artificial intelligence and cleantech.

• Ontario Brain Institute (OBI)
• SOSCIP
• Ontario Genomics (OG)

An update on Canada Research Chairs (CRC), Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC), Canada 150 Research Chairs (C150), Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF), Research Support Fund (RSF), and more.

The historic and renovated Windsor Armouries building located in downtown Windsor has become the exciting new home of the University of Windsor’s School of Creative Arts (SOCA).