York University researcher Susan McGrath (MES '90), a professor in the School of Social Work in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, has been appointed a member of the Order of Canada for her contributions to research and policy on refugee rights and for fostering collaboration among scholars in her field.
McGrath’s academic and research interests include: developing a global refugee research network (refugeeresearch.net), refugee resettlement, community development, community-based mental health programs and transnational social work.
She serves as a member of the boards of the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture and the journal Refuge. Her research and writing focus on community work with vulnerable populations, including refugees.
Her current funded projects explore the impact of collective trauma on community practice with refugees, GLBTT and Aboriginal populations; examine social sustainability among newcomers in three Canadian cities; and support the development of social work in Rwanda.
Recently, she and colleagues in Canada and Sudan studied enterprise development needs in camps for the internally displaced in Southern Sudan and Darfur. McGrath is the principal investigator of a Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada Strategic Knowledge Cluster grant to support the development of Refugee Research Networks across Canada and globally.
