About the Chair

The Gordon F. Henderson Chair in Human Rights was created in 1991 in honour of Gordon F. Henderson CC QC, a long-term supporter and adviser of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) and former Chancellor of the University of Ottawa. The endowment that supports the Chair’s work was established to strengthen the Centre’s ability to fulfil its mandate and further enhance its capacity to act as a leader in the field of human rights. The names of previous chairholders can be found on the Centre’s website.  

Description

The individual holding the Gordon F. Henderson Chair will be a University of Ottawa full-time faculty member working in the field of human rights broadly defined, with special attention to HRREC’s research areas and prospects for fruitful collaboration. The Chairholder will be expected to locate in the HRREC to facilitate his/her integration within the Centre’s community and actively contribute to the growth of its research enterprise and increase its visibility at the national and international levels. The Chairholder should become a Member of the Centre (if this is not already the case) and will join the Management Committee of the Centre.    

The funding allocation for the Gordon F. Henderson Chair will be $25,000 per year for the three years duration of the appointment, non-renewable. This fund may be used to defray research expenses, student support, course release, travel, conferences and other academic undertakings.

Selection procedure

The selection of the Chairholder will be made by a panel including the Director of the HRREC and an Associate Vice-President Research of the University of Ottawa. Up to three candidates will be selected and invited to present their research proposals to the panel and the academic members of the Centre during individual sessions to be scheduled in January. The new chairholder will start his or her tenure on July 1^st, 2025.

Reporting mechanisms

Reporting of this Chair will be through annual reports submitted to the Director of the HRREC at the beginning of each calendar year. The content of these reports will be used to inform the Centre’s annual reports and for promotional purposes.

How to apply

Candidates should send the following documents (in English or French) to Viviana Fernandez, Associate Director of the HRREC, to the address [email protected]:

• A brief cover letter;
• An up-to-date C.V.;
• Two letters of recommendation from experts in the field who are not in a conflict of interest with the nominee;
• A five-page research proposal describing the projects, funding applications and activities to be undertaken by the candidate during his/her tenure as Chair as well as an itemized budget. 

Closing date: December 15, 2024

Duration of the Chair: July 2025 — June 2028

• Download the competition guidelines for the Gordon F. Henderson Chair in Human Rights (PDF in English and French)