“I am honoured to work with such talented and dedicated researchers and graduate students at OCAD U during an exciting time of growth and expansion,” says Dr. Mathur, pictured above.
For Dr. Ashok Mathur, research and graduate studies are the lifeblood of OCAD University and mark a distinctive future for the global creative sector.
The newly appointed Vice-President, Research and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, brings extensive administrative and teaching experience in graduate education as well as a significant record of research and creative practice to the role. His five-year appointment, effective July 1, was approved by the University’s Board of Governors on June 26.
“With more than 30 years of experience as an educator, administrator, researcher and cultural organizer, Dr. Mathur is well-positioned to not only lead this key portfolio but to expand our research capacity and increase graduate student enrolment,” says President and Vice-Chancellor Ana Serrano, who chaired the search committee. “As the world continues to rapidly change due to technology, climate crisis and socio-economic and political instability, the role of artists and designers in enhancing Canada’s research agenda to include innovative art and design practices and ways to understand technologies such as generative AI, will be even more important. Dr. Mathur is well-positioned to take OCAD University’s research portfolio into these new directions and partner with researchers and institutions around the world to tackle these complex challenges.”
Dr. Mathur joined OCAD University in late 2017 as the first permanent Dean of Graduate Studies and assumed the additional responsibilities as interim Vice-President, Research for two years. Prior to coming to OCAD U, he was Head of Creative Studies at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan from 2013-17.
From 2005 to 2013, he was a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Cultural and Artistic Inquiry at Thompson Rivers University – one of the first research-creation CRCs in the country. He also held the position of Director of the Centre for Innovation in Culture and the Arts in Canada at Thompson Rivers from 2006 to 2013. He was Head of Critical and Cultural Studies at Emily Carr University of Art + Design from 2001 to 2005.
“I'm thrilled and honoured to take the helm of research and graduate studies at OCAD U. I see these areas as foundational in art and design universities and to the future of the creative sector,” says Dr. Mathur. "The quality of research at OCAD U and the calibre of graduate students, both domestic and international, speak to our growth in research that is having impact in various sectors, such as health care, manufacturing and media and entertainment.”
Dr. Mathur has been the principal investigator of several research projects funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). These include a two-year Partnership Engage funded project at OCAD U, Collaborating with the Land: a social laboratory on performance, art and learning, that supported virtual residency and engagement activities for Indigenous, Black and People of Colour artists; Crossing Canada, Crossing Media: performing the land we are, a four-year project funded by an Insight grant at the University of British Columbia; and a SSHRC research-creation grant at Thompson Rivers University that supported three significant art research exhibitions based on his novel, A Little Distillery in Nowgong.
A champion of equity and reconciliation, one of Dr. Mathur’s major academic achievements was serving as lead editor of the critical anthology, Cultivating Canada: reconciliation through the lens of cultural diversity. Published by the Aboriginal Health Foundation, this publication explored the inter-relationships of racialized/immigrant communities with Indigenous communities within the context of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee’s Calls to Action.
Along with his scholarly publications, he has also produced numerous critical, poetry and art books, and projects that focus on and feature the intersections of artistic engagement. This includes The First Black White Man in 2018, a long poem that revisits historical figures in the interior of British Columbia from the early 1900s through a lens of race, slavery and government policy as well as recent photo publications and exhibitions produced during his recent administrative leave in 2022-23.
Dr. Mathur will report to President and Vice-Chancellor Ana Serrano, providing leadership to the Office of Research's operations and support the implementation of the priorities of the Academic and Strategic Plan and advance the University’s research agenda, including the development of a new Research Strategic Plan that will take into account key research considerations of the 21st century such as climate justice and sustainability and emerging technologies like generative AI. His portfolio includes the Inclusive Design Research Centre. As Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, he will report to Dr. Caroline Langill, Vice-President, Academic and Provost.
President Serrano extended her appreciation to Stephen Foster for his excellent work as interim VP, Research and Dean, Graduate Studies: “I am grateful for his leadership and support in leading these two important portfolios.”
As Chair of the search committee, Serrano extended her appreciation to its members for their contributions: Dr. Caroline Langill, VP Academic and Provost; Dr. Sarita Srivastava, Dean, Faculty of Arts and Science; faculty members Jules Goss, Kate Hartman, Dr. Emma Westecott and Dr. Michelle Wyndham-West; Heather Robson, Director, Research Services; Kevin Reid-Morris, Board of Governors representative; Sujeet Sennik, student representative; and Connie Arezes-Reis, People & Culture representative (non-voting).