Current students, faculty, and staff
The Global Centre for Climate Action (GCCA) is now accepting applications for the 2025–26 BMO Sustainable Futures Faculty Fellowship (SF3), made possible through the generous support of BMO. The fellowship provides one course release and $5,000 in research funding to support faculty-led projects that advance sustainability in teaching, research and creative practice.
The SF3 program is designed to strengthen faculty capacity for sustainability-focused work across three research themes: pedagogy, materials and materiality, and cultural impact. Proposals that combine or bridge these themes are encouraged, reflecting the interconnected nature of environmental, social, cultural and economic systems. This approach recognizes that meaningful climate action requires work that cuts across disciplines and engages with communities where change is urgently needed.
Applications are open to eligible faculty members who can take their course release in Winter Term 2026. The deadline to apply is Friday, September 5, 2025, at 12 p.m. For full details, contact climateaction@ocadu.ca.
This year’s fellowship call is part of the revitalization of the GCCA under the leadership of Director Jana Macalik. Macalik returned to OCAD U in 2025 after serving as Interim Provost, Vice-President (Academic and Research) and Interim President at NSCAD University. Her return marks a renewed emphasis on positioning the GCCA as a research hub where art, design and culture are mobilized to drive climate justice and systemic change.
The Centre’s revitalized priorities include deepening research intensity, expanding public engagement, embedding equity-driven practice, and integrating Indigenous leadership and perspectives into all areas of its work. The BMO Fellowship is one of several initiatives supported through BMO’s generous contribution, alongside the Climate Action Speaker Series, an annual artist residency and exhibition, expanded faculty research support and the BMO Sustainability Awards for students.
The SF3 program builds on the successful pilot program that was developed in collaboration with the Office of Diversity, Equity & Sustainability Initiatives (ODESI) and the Centre for Learning & Teaching (previously the FCDC) who contributed pedagogical research support, staffing, and resources to make the pilot program possible. Learn more about the pilot program past recipients and research.
The SF3 program nurtures OCAD U’s strengths in practice-based, community-connected research. Fellows are encouraged to work in ways that foster collaboration and dialogue; whether through material innovation, new approaches to teaching and learning, or cultural interventions that shift public understanding of sustainability and climate justice.
“Climate action happens on the ground, in dialogue with people and places,” says Macalik. “This fellowship supports the kind of research our faculty do best, connecting creative practice with the communities most affected.”
Selected fellows will become part of a research cohort within the GCCA, meeting regularly to exchange ideas, share progress, and build connections across disciplines. Fellows will also present their work publicly, contributing to the growing body of sustainability-focused art and design research and strengthening OCAD U’s role in shaping creative responses to the climate crisis.
Applications will be reviewed by a committee of OCAD U members, with recipients announced in mid-September 2025.