UCalgary Research Excellence Chairs (UCREC)
Managed by the VPR Office | Recognition in Research
Round 3
UCalgary is excited to launch Round 3 of our prestigious internal chairs program, designed to recognize our scholars with highly distinguished accomplishments and research leadership, and who display exceptional promise in their research and creative work. The UCalgary Research Excellence program builds capacity and provides leadership for strategic and transdisciplinary research initiatives.
For Round 3, the top-ranked candidates in the UCREC program will be recommended to receive UCalgary's most prestigious research chair: the Killam Memorial Chair and Killam Memorial Emerging Leader Chairs. The Killam Memorial Chairs are the University of Calgary’s highest research positions, created through an endowment by Dorothy Killam to attract, recognize, and support the most distinguished scholars. Since 1967, eight distinguished scholars have held the University of Calgary’s Killam Memorial Chair.
The UCalgary Research Excellence Chairs share many of the features of the federal Canada Research Chairs program. Faculty members who hold internal or external named awards, such as endowed chairs and professorships, Canada Research Chairs, or major salary awards from external agencies are eligible to be nominated, however cannot hold this Chair simultaneously with other Chairs. A faculty member who holds a UCalgary Research Excellence Chair must relinquish it if they receive such an award.
Program lead:
Dr. Katrina Milaney
Associate Vice-President (Research)
Contact:
Scholars should contact their Dean’s office with specific inquiries about nominations, as the VPR Awards team will only be able to respond to general questions about the program.
Chair Details
- UCalgary Research Excellence Chairs who are appointed within 10 years of PhD taking into account any leaves of absence (as outlined in the Canada Research Chairs Program) will receive $20,000 in annual research allowance during the term of the Chair.
- UCalgary Research Excellence Chairs who are appointed more than 10 years post-PhD will receive $30,000 in annual research allowance.
- All chairs will receive a $5,000 annual supplement in the form of a research prize. Chairs may opt to shift $5,000 of research allowance to the prize, increasing it to $10,000 annually.
- Killam Memorial Emerging Leader Chair will be awarded to the top-ranked Tier 2 application in the broader UCREC competition. The Killam Memorial Emerging Leader Chair will be held for the first two years of the UCREC term, followed by 3 years as a UCREC (for a total 5-year term as a Chair). During the 2-year term as KMELC, they will receive $65,000 in annual research allowance AND a $10,000 chairholder stipend (salary supplement) per annum. At the conclusion of the 2-year term as KMELC, they will receive the benefits of a Tier 2 UCREC
- Killam Memorial Chair will be awarded to the top-ranked tier 1 application in the broader UCREC competition. The Killam Memorial Chair will be held for the first two years, followed by 3 years as a UCREC (for a total 5-year term as a Chair). During the 2-year term as KMC, the Killam Memorial Chair provides $100,000 per annum to the chairholder’s Faculty in support of the chairholder’s salary. The nominating Faculty must agree to use these savings in the following ways: to make available to the chairholder at least $50,000 per annum in research funding for the two-year term; to provide to the chairholder an annual chair stipend (salary supplement) for the two-year term of the chair, of a value determined by the Faculty, commensurate with the prestige of the chair and the chairholder’s standing in their field of study; and to use any remaining funds to support academic activities complementary to those of the Killam Memorial Chairholder. At the conclusion of the 2-year term as KMC, they will receive the benefits of a Tier 1 UCREC
- Chairs will have a substantial portion of their workload allocated to research-related activities. In most cases, nominees brought forward by Faculties will already have such time allocation. In exceptional cases where reduced teaching is needed for workload adjustment, host Faculties may request support to offset the cost of sessional teaching replacement.
Nomination and evaluation
The nomination process is to be strategically led by Faculty Deans, in partnership with the Provost and Vice-President Academic (VPA) and Vice-President Research (VPR).
Nominations should include:
- Nominee’s CV and a short, non-technical max 2-page description of the nominee's research contributions and impact
- Research Proposal – A 3-page proposal outlining the priorities, objectives, approach, and expected outcomes for the research activities proposed for the tenure of the Research Excellence Chair. This will include clearly stating how the activities will build capacity in transdisciplinary scholarship and/or other strategic initiatives at the University of Calgary.
- Statement on EDIA – A 1-page statement from the nominee outlining their commitment to excellence in research and research training through advancement of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility.
- Statement from Faculty Dean - should describe 1) the Faculty’s assessment of the nominee’s research program and record of (and potential for) research leadership, and 2) how the faculty member will be supported for successful engagement in transdisciplinary and other strategic initiatives. This will include description of the faculty member’s workload, and whether it needs to be adjusted for the term of the Chair so that there is substantial time dedicated to scholarship and creative activity.
- Letter of appraisal – from an external expert providing a written evaluation of the quality, feasibility, and likely impact of the proposed research and of the capability of the nominee to achieve the stated goals of that research. The external expert shall have an arm’s length perspective, per the conflict of interest guidelines of the Canada Research Chairs program.
The University of Calgary is committed to promoting equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and indigenous engagement with the Research Excellence Chairs program, and will follow relevant practices outlined in the EDI in Research and Teaching Awards Pilot Plan.
Please compile each nomination package into a single PDF.
Nominations must be submitted by Faculty Deans by 12 p.m. MT (noon) on June 11, 2024 through this form.
Nominations will be assessed by a selection committee advisory to the Program Lead and against the criteria used to consider Canada Research Chair nominations at the Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels.
Subsequently the VPR and Provost will meet with the Program Lead and will make the final allocation decisions based on external appraisals and selection committee recommendations.
Scoring:
-
60%: Quality of the nominee and the proposed research program
Assessment takes into account career stage and discipline, and the degree to which the nominee
- is an outstanding and innovative world-class researcher;
- is recognized internationally, nationally, or regionally; and
- is proposing an original, innovative research program.
-
40%: Research environment, supports, and alignment with strategic priorities
- Quality of the institutional and Faculty-level environment;
- Faculty support;
- Alignment with UCalgary and Faculty strategies; and
- Potential of nominee to build capacity and provide leadership.
- Nominations must be submitted by a Faculty Dean; self- or peer-nominations are not eligible.
- Notice of award expected in July 2026.
- Program may repeat in ~18-24 months.
Please see the Terms of Reference for complete details.
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