Movement from one place to another has always been part of who we are as human beings.
But the volume and causes of migration in the 21st century are creating unique challenges for nations and individuals alike.
Why people are on the move ranges from large-scale environmental destruction to civil war to the search for a better quality of life. Whatever the reasons for deciding to leave, their movement evokes crucial questions about borders, economic well-being, and inclusivity. In many immigrant-receiving countries of the global North, xenophobia is on the rise, and extremist anti-immigration political parties are increasing their support at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, the greatest migration challenges are in fact faced in the global South. The vast majority of refugees seek safety in neighbouring regions where many states lack the capacity to provide adequate support to those displaced from their homes.
Given these challenges, universities are increasingly recognizing the importance of Migration as a field of research—a development reflected in the creation of migration centres and teaching programs, as well as in faculty recruitment.
Initiated in 2018 through UBC’s Grants for Catalyzing Research Clusters competition, the UBC Centre for Migration Studies (CMS) is an interdisciplinary, intersectoral network committed to advancing the study of migration, mobilities, and belonging. The Centre evolved through the institutional support of the Faculty of Arts; the Departments of Political Science, Sociology, Geography, Anthropology, Central, Eastern and Northern European Studies; and the Peter A. Allard School of Law. CMS serves as an incubator for transformative research within the academy and beyond. With 90 faculty affiliates, 74 graduate student affiliates, and numerous community practitioners and partners, the Centre works to facilitate publicly-engaged dialogue that fosters inclusive and just communities. CMS does this through a rich and diverse array of research collaborations and programming initiatives, including SSHRC- and CFREF-funded partnerships with universities across Canada.
Questions of immigrant inclusion are at the heart of the research conducted by many CMS affiliates, spanning social and geographic contexts across the globe. The President’s Excellence Chair in Global Migration will benefit from these existing collaborations in research, teaching, and public engagement, while also being a major asset in the university’s efforts to make UBC a globally-recognized leader in migration research and graduate training excellence.
Confirmed appointment
Dr. Irene Bloemraad joined the University of British Columbia as the President’s Excellence Chair in Global Migration and as a Professor in the Departments of Political Science and Sociology, on July 1, 2024. She is the Co-Director of the Centre of Migration Studies in the Faculty of Arts and will continue to co-direct the Boundaries, Membership and Belonging program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, a Canada-based global research organization.
An internationally recognized expert on migration and citizenship, Dr. Bloemraad studies how immigrants become incorporated into the political communities where they live, and the consequences of migration for politics and understandings of membership. Her research has been published in academic journals spanning the fields of sociology, political science, history, and ethnic/migration studies, and she has authored or co-edited five books including The Oxford Handbook of Citizenship (2017), Rallying for Immigrant Rights (2011) and Becoming a Citizen (2006). In 2014-15, she served as a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences panel reporting on the integration of immigrants into U.S. society and in 2020-21, she served as the elected chair of the International Migration section of the American Sociological Association.
Dr. Bloemraad joined UBC from the University of California, Berkeley, where she was the Class of 1951 Professor of Sociology. She is also the founding Director of the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative, as well as the past chair and director of the Canadian Studies program.
Dr. Bloemraad received her B.A. (Honours, Political Science) and M.A. (Sociology) from McGill University and her PhD (Sociology) from Harvard University. While at UC-Berkeley, Dr. Bloemraad was honoured with the university’s American Cultures Innovation in Teaching Prize (2013), the Division of Social Sciences’ Distinguished Teaching Award (2012), and the Sarlo Distinguished Mentoring Award (2008). Beyond being a widely published author and an award-winning teacher, Dr. Bloemraad also regularly shares her work with the general public, immigration stakeholders, and policymakers, from the municipal to international level. She also enjoys speaking with journalists from radio, TV, on-line and print media and has published op-ed in places such as the Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen and the L.A. Times.