I am delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Uzo Anucha to the role of associate vice-president, faculty affairs, effective Jan. 1, 2025. This appointment comes after a comprehensive internal search this fall.
As associate vice-president, faculty affairs, Professor Anucha will tap her expertise, talent and deep investment in York to support the careers of faculty members across the University. Through leadership, collaboration and relationships, she will enhance York’s academic mission through the recruitment and development of diverse faculty members, who in turn will enrich the University as scholars and colleagues.
Uzo Anucha is a full professor in the School of Social Work and the York Research Chair in Youth and Contexts of Inequity. Her education spans two continents and includes a PhD in social work from the University of Toronto; a master of social work and bachelor of social work from York University; and a BSc and MSc from the University of Nigeria. Professor Anucha joined York in 2006 as an assistant professor in the School of Social Work.
Professor Anucha’s academic career is grounded in critical community-engaged scholarship underscored by a commitment to building equitable and long-term research collaborations with communities, as well as a commitment to ongoing and active knowledge exchange to support collective action and social change. Since 2009, her research agenda has focused on critical youth work. She is the founding academic director of Youth Research and Evaluation Exchange (YouthREX), a multimillion-dollar investment by the Ontario government to leverage research and evidence in building the capacity of youth workers. Since YouthREX’s launch in November 2014, Professor Anucha has led its collaborative development into a multifaceted learning “space” that has become a key component of the Ontario youth sector.
Professor Anucha’s service at York University has been diverse and sustained, and she has consistently taken on service roles at the school, Faculty and University levels, including serving as the graduate program director of the master of social work and PhD programs, and participation on University-based governance committees such as the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies' Executive Committee.
Professor Anucha has also served on a variety of community boards, including being appointed by Order in Council by the government of Ontario to the Board of Directors of the Central Local Health Integration Network, a crown agency of the government for two terms of six years (2011-17). Her professional service includes serving a full three-year term on the Board of Accreditation for the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work and a full three-year term on the Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education with the Council on Social Work Education.
Please join me in welcoming Professor Anucha to her new role. I am confident that the Office of Faculty Affairs and the many faculty they serve will thrive under her leadership. I look forward to working with her and others across the University to cultivate a welcoming, supportive and motivating environment at York.
Please visit the Office of Faculty Affairs website to learn more about faculty affairs, or you can reach Professor Anucha by email at avpfa@yorku.ca.
Thank you, merci, miigwech.
Laina Y. Bay-Cheng
Professor and Vice-President Equity, People and Culture