Brock Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon emphasized the importance of Canada’s medium-sized universities this week in remarks made to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Research.

Kenyon was invited to participate as a witness in a study being conducted on the successes, challenges and opportunities for science in Canada.

“Medium-sized universities are the sites of research excellence by any measure,” Kenyon told the Parliamentarians. “They make good on a mandate that includes contributing to science and inquiry of universal value and interest. They also play an irreplaceable role in enhancing the economic, cultural and social vitality of the regions in which they exist. Their partnerships are likelier to be local, critical to the aspirations of regional industry and business, and informed by an expert understanding of their community partners.

“They’re also very efficient at generating one of the most important and reliable forms of research impact: the impact of teaching when conducted by experts actively engaged in research.”

Kenyon also told the committee that more must be done to address the historic exclusion of Indigenous and Black researchers, and promote diversity in science and research.

Last year, Brock began recruitment for four new Indigenous faculty members in Women’s and Gender Studies/Sociology, Canadian Indigenous History and Indigenous Educational Studies. In January, Interim President and Vice-Chancellor Lynn Wells expressed her support for a “cluster hire” of a number of Black faculty members.

Kenyon’s remarks can be viewed in full here.