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Visiting Researcher-Scholars at Risk

Visiting Researcher-Scholars at Risk

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The Visiting Researcher - Scholars at Risk Program at Wilfrid Laurier University is established to support scholars who are facing threats to their life, liberty or academic career, and/or have been forced to leave their academic position because of such threats. The program is fully remote and will allow scholars to remotely re-engage with academia after being pushed outside the university space.

The Visiting Researcher - Scholars at Risk Program will assist Laurier faculty and students create and strengthen opportunities for research and collaborative engagement with scholars in areas of mutual interest.  Scholars eligible for this program will have a Visiting Researcher appointment.

 

 

Eligibility

Visiting Researchers-Scholars at Risk ("Visiting Researchers") must be scholars with a recent affiliation with an international academic institution who are invited to Laurier to participate in or conduct research of mutual interest.  Scholars may currently be based in Canada.  The Visiting Researcher must be academic professors/ researchers/ lecturers, who hold a PhD or equivalent, with a substantial and recent history of employment at an international academic institution of higher education and who have authored academic publications.   The program is intended to assist eligible scholars who are facing threats to their life, liberty or academic career, and/or have been forced to leave their country or academic position because of such threats.   A candidate is considered "at risk" if they are currently facing a qualifying threat or are facing the ongoing effects or disadvantages of such threats in the recent past. Qualifying threats generally involve infringement or violation of an internationally recognized human right by a third party outside of the control of the candidate. Threats may be directly related to, or independent of, a candidate's scholarly work, and may vary in severity from concerns about future persecution to immediate, urgent risk to the life or liberty of the candidate or a related person. Common threats include, among others, on-going conflict,  displacement or exile, discrimination, censorship, intimidation, harassment, and violence. The program is intended to provide short-term remote positions to help scholars resume or maintain their academic careers.  Scholars who retain affiliation with their home institution despite on-going threats may be considered for the program provided that the on-going threat has significantly impacted the scholars academic career (i.e. loss of salary, access to research resources including funding, access to facilities, etc).   All eligible scholars must be:

1.     Nominated by a Laurier faculty member who has a long-standing research relationship with the nominated scholar who can attest to their eligibility as a threatened or displaced scholar; or

2.     Presented by the Scholars at Risk (SAR) program.

Application Process

Individuals may obtain Visiting Researcher status through one of two routes:

  1. Through the SAR program

Applications from the SAR program will be received as submitted to SAR. The Assistant Vice-President, Research will receive applications from the SAR program and present the applicants to potential host Faculties and faculty mentors.  If a host Faculty and faculty mentor are identified, the Faculty Dean and faculty mentor must both provide letters of support.   A letter of support from the host Faculty Dean should outline the ways the Visiting Researcher will be engaged remotely at Laurier (e.g. remote guest lecturing) and note the opportunities provided to the Visiting Researcher to broaden their academic networks.  The letter of support from the faculty member must describe their commitment to mentor and support the Visiting Researcher for the duration of their remote appointment.

      2.  A Laurier faculty member may recommend an individual be appointed as a Visiting Researcher.   

Applications for individuals recommended by a Laurier faculty member must include:

  1. A letter of recommendation from the Laurier faculty member must attest to the current threat the scholar is facing and describe their commitment to mentor  and support the Visiting Researcher for the duration of their remote appointment.  The letter of recommendation must describe the past research relationship with the nominated scholar and provide sufficient context to demonstrate that the Laurier faculty member is knowledgeable about the scholars research and the threat they have faced at their home institution.   Faculty members may nominate scholars who do not speak English, however they must articulate in their letter of recommendation how they will support the scholar for the duration of the affiliation and ensure they are engaged in meaningful ways;
  2. An application from the scholar that includes: (i) a brief statement, in addition to corroborating evidence when possible, of current threat being faced; and (ii) a one-page description of the proposed research to be undertaken by the Visiting Researcher during the remote appointment;
  3. A CV, including information on any other affiliations, fellowships or awards currently held; and
  4. A letter of support from the host Faculty Dean outlining the ways the Visiting Researcher will be engaged remotely at Laurier (e.g. remote guest lecturing) and note the opportunities provided to the Visiting Researcher to broaden their academic networks.

All applications must be submitted in English to Dr. Charity Parr- Vasquez (cparrvasquez@wlu.ca), by either April 30th (for a September 1 appointment start date) or September 1 (for a December 1 appointment start date) of each year.  All applications will be reviewed by the Local Scholars at Risk Committee, which will include representation from the Office of Research Services and faculty members within the academic Faculties interested in hosting a Visiting Researcher through this program.  Applications will be assessed on:

  1. Eligibility;
  2. The commitment of the host Faculty/Department and faculty mentor to support the Visiting Researcher and engage them in remote opportunities to contribute to the activities of the university and broaden their network.
  3. Impact of threat on Scholar's academic career.  In the event that the program is oversubscribed, priority will be given to scholar's whose academic careers have been more severely and potentially permanently impacted by the threats faced.

Following approval, the Vice-President, Research at Laurier will provide written notice of the Visiting Researcher appointment to the successful applicant, copied to the Dean of applicable faculty and to the University Librarian at Laurier. The Assistant Vice-President, Research will notify the SAR program.

Terms of Visiting Researcher - Scholars at Risk Program

The term of the Visiting Researcher appointment shall typically be two consecutive academic terms (nine months) and is non-renewable.

Individuals granted Visiting Researcher status under the Scholars at Risk program, will have remote, internet based access to the Wilfrid Laurier University Library and its available collections, subject to any eligibility restrictions based on geographic location of the Visiting Researcher as noted below.  The Visiting Researcher acknowledges that Wilfrid Laurier University has a range of license agreements with third parties providing access to online collections and resources and that any terms or conditions under these license agreements will apply. 

In addition to access to Laurier library materials, a Visiting Researcher will typically participate in or conduct research of mutual interest with a Laurier researcher(s) and engage in collaborative research programs with Laurier faculty.  Visiting Researchers under the Scholars at Risk program are eligible to receive a one-time stipend of $10,000 (CAN), subject to any eligibility restrictions based on the geographic location of the Visiting Researcher.  The Visiting Researcher may note their appointment as a Visiting Researcher and affiliation with Wilfrid Laurier University on all publications resulting from the work undertaken during the appointment.  No other rights or privileges are associated with the title of Visiting Researcher and Visiting Researcher may not represent themselves as having any formal appointment at Laurier.

Library Resources - Terms of Use              

A Visiting Researcher will become an 'authorized user' under the terms of license agreements signed by the Wilfrid Laurier University Library. The terms of these license agreements may restrict the Visiting Researcher from accessing licensed materials based on their geographic location.  At this time, access restrictions may apply to some or all of the following countries: Russia, Iran, Cuba, Syria, Belarus, North Korea, Venezuela, and Eritrea, which list may be amended at any time.  A Visiting Researcher located in a sanctioned or embargoed country will not be permitted access to any online or electronic resources through the University Library.

A Visiting Researcher must agree that, as an 'authorized user' under the terms of the License Agreements signed by the Laurier Library, all use of electronic resources shall be for educational or research purposes only and shall be non-commercial in nature. Visiting Researchers will respect all intellectual property rights and will abide by any applicable copyright legislation. In addition, the Visiting Researcher agrees to be bound by all Laurier Library regulations and lending policies. The Library reserves the right to suspend or withdraw privileges for failure to follow the policies specified herein, including non-payment of outstanding accounts.

Information Technology Resources – Terms of Use

A Visiting Researcher may apply to obtain a Laurier email account, access to Exchange, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint and Zoom (based on request) through the sponsored network and email account process, subject to any eligibility restrictions based on geographic location of the Visiting Researcher as noted above. The Laurier faculty mentor must complete and sign off on the sponsored network and email account request process and must include on the form the geographic location from where the Visiting Researcher will be accessing these resources.

Administration of Agreement and Application Process

The application process and administration of this agreement is managed by the Vice-President Research at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Applicable Policies

By signing this agreement all participants in the Visiting Researcher – Scholars at Risk Program agree to comply with all applicable  Laurier policies and procedures, including, but not limited to University Policy 9.1 Use of Information Technology, University Policy 9.5 'External Information Technology and Cloud Services, and the Library's Borrowing Policies.

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