SJRI Membership

Membership categories

(i) Affiliated members: Brock tenured and tenure-track faculty members, Emeritus Professors, and professional librarians who have successfully applied for affiliation to the SJRI. Affiliated members are encouraged to participate in the governance of the SJRI.

(ii) Research Associates: Brock-based post-doctoral fellows (PDFs), visiting scholars, and adjunct professors who are working on projects with a social justice focus.

(iii) Participating members: Students, stipend instructors, LTAs, activists, artists, community members and people from other universities who wish to have a relationship with the SJRI. Participating members do not have a right to vote or stand for office.

Definitions and expectations

(i) Affiliated members: Affiliated members are encouraged to participate in the governance of the SJRI and are also eligible to be Principal Investigators in applications for funding from the SJRI. Affiliated members each have a vote at annual general meetings and are eligible to put their names forward for the Faculty Steering Committee (FSC). Through annual general meetings, Affiliated members are responsible for voting on Affiliated membership, voting on the Directorship and membership in the FSC, as well as any changes to governance.

(ii) Research Associates: Research Associates may not be the Principal Investigators applying for funding from the SJRI but they can apply as Co-Investigators. They may be involved in organizing SJRI events but may not be part of the FSC.

(iii) Participating members: Participating members have a less formal relationship to the SJRI and limited rights and responsibilities. Participating members may not be the Principal Investigators applying for funding from the SJRI. Participating members may be involved in organizing SJRI events but may not be part of the FSC. Tenured and tenure track faculty and professional librarians at Brock are normally expected to seek Affiliated membership.

Criteria for membership

All members are expected to share a commitment to social justice and transdisciplinary scholarship.

(i) Affiliated members: Affiliated membership is made up of social justice- oriented tenured and tenure-track Brock faculty members and professional librarians. Affiliated members will be required to apply for re-affiliation with the SJRI every five years. The process for becoming a member of the SJRI is as follows:

  • Applicants must submit to the Director a CV and a one-to-two page statement of intent outlining the relevance of their research to social justice and their planned contribution to SJRI. A sub-committee of the FSC will review all applications and recommend affiliation or not. Taking recommendation from the sub-committee, the FSC will also vote to recommend affiliation or not. Final voting on membership will take place by all Affiliated members at a annual general meeting. Members of the SJRI may resign their membership through a letter of resignation to the Director.

(ii) Research Associates: PDFs, visiting scholars and adjunct professors at Brock can apply to be Research Associates through the following procedure:

  • Applicants submit a cv together with a short (1 page maximum) letter indicating why they would like to be a Research Associate, why their research program is a good fit with SJRI’s vision, and how they hope to contribute to the SJRI community and research culture.
  • The nomination will be voted on by the FSC.
  • The tenure of the appointment will normally be for the duration of their appointment (or visit) to Brock. If Research Associates would like to retain the title once they leave Brock, this will be addressed on a case-by-case basis, assessing the benefits to SJRI of retaining this connection.

(iii) Participating members: Participating members can include students, stipend instructors, LTAs, activists, artists, community members and people from other universities who wish to have a relationship with the SJRI. Anyone actively involved in organizing SJRI events is considered to be a Participating member. In extraordinary circumstances, Participating members can have their status rescinded by a two-thirds majority vote of the FSC.

Participating member sign-up

Privileges and responsibilities of membership

Affiliated members are expected to share a commitment to social justice and transdisciplinary scholarship, and involve themselves according to their capabilities in the governance and activities of the SJRI.  They may serve as principal applicants for SJRI grants. Affiliated members also participate in the governance of the SJRI by: attending FSC meetings as non voting members; voting at the AGM on affiliated membership, directorship, membership in the FSC and changes to governance practices; serving on the SJRI standing committees.

Research Associates can serve as co-applicants for SJRI grants. They do not participate in the governance of the SJRI, nor attend FSC meeting. They are welcome to attend general meetings (without a vote). Their research ‘outputs’ and external funding will be included in SJRI annual reporting on its research activities, publications, and research grants.

Participating members may attend SJRI-sponsored workshops, participate in events, and collaborate on SJRI research projects.

For more information about SJRI’s purpose, membership and activities please contact Maria Callaghan, SJRI Coordinator at sjri@brocku.ca.