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(Wolfville,
NS) - Acadia University today congratulated its two most
recent Canada Research Chairs. Dr. Michael Leiter and Dr. Hugh
Chipman will both begin work at Acadia on their successful research
projects later this year.
“Acadia is proud of
its researchers and pleased that the Government of Canada is
supporting research at undergraduate institutions,’ said Dr. Gail
Dinter-Gottlieb, President of Acadia University. “Funding for Canada
Research Chairs is an extremely important element in Acadia’s long
term plan to increase its capacity for research and helps the
University build its already strong reputation for attracting and
retaining top scholars.”
Dr. Michael Leiter,
Canada Research Chair in Occupational Health and Well-Being, will
receive $1,400,000 over seven years as a Tier I Chair. In addition,
the government also announced Dr. Leiter will receive $50,323 from
the Canada Foundation for Innovation. Dr. Leiter, one of the world’s
top experts on job stress and burnout, will continue to design and
assess interventions for enhancing the quality of work-life. The
research will provide a better understanding of the relationship
between people and their work, leading to interventions that can
reduce exhaustion and cynicism.
Dr. Leiter has been a
Psychology professor at Acadia for 26 years. Between 1998 and 2003
he was the University’s Vice-President Academic. Dr. Leiter is the
Founder and Director of the Centre for Organizational Research and
Development and co-author of the most widely-read book on
occupational burnout “The Truth About Burnout.”
Dr. Hugh Chipman,
Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Modelling, will receive
$500,000 over five years as a Tier II Chair. In addition, the
government also announced Dr. Chipman will receive $117,649 in
funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. Dr. Chipman, a
statistician with a specialty in predictive modelling, will apply
mathematical modelling techniques to various fields of study
including drug discovery, manufacturing, security and genomics.
Dr. Chipman, currently
at the University of Waterloo, returns to Acadia July 1. He hails
from Wolfville and obtained his B.Sc. in Honours Mathematics from
Acadia where the Chipman name is well-known and respected. Dr.
Chipman has received numerous awards for his work in statistics and
more recently has been developing flexible mathematical modelling
techniques for large datasets through collaborative research.
“These are exciting
times for research at Acadia,” says Dr. Thomas Ellis, Dean of
Research and Graduate Studies at Acadia University. “Our researchers
are achieving an unparalleled level of success. Our two new CRC
Chairs, combined with the CFI funding, lay the groundwork for
exciting, multidisciplinary research programs that will be
competitive at the international level.”
Today’s announcement
follows a March 2004 announcement by the Government of Canada which
included Canada Foundation for Innovation funding for Dr. Sonya
Symons and her team of researchers who will develop The Acadia
Digital Culture Observatory. This facility will support
inter-disciplinary research on the interactions of people and
communities with information and communications technologies.
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