Carleton University has announced a plan to hire 10 Indigenous instructors over the next two years in an effort to revive its Strategic Indigenous Initiatives program and strengthen its relationship with First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities.
The initiative
is “building on strength,” said Jerry Tomberlin, the university’s VP Academic, in an email. “We’ve
been working for many years to increase the number of Indigenous […] staff, faculty and students on campus and we are recommitting to that important goal,” he said.
By hiring more Indigenous faculty, the school “will bring invaluable […] knowledge, research, (and) ways of knowing,” to students, a media release said.
“Our faculty will better reflect the experiences and cultures of our student body and the population at-large,” the release said.
Tomberlin said the school is still determining where the new faculty members will work and hopes to have a solid action plan by the end of 2019.
![A statue of a beaver stares at Pindigen Park in Ottawa. Located near LeBreton Flats, the park is meant to highlight Indigenous culture and heritage. [Photo © Christianna Alexiou]](https://capitalcurrent.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/RAW_FEATURE_BEAVER_LANG.jpg)