Research is one of the fundamental pillars of Yorkville University’s commitment to academic goals. The Office of Academic Research (OAR) serves as the central hub for administering and advancing research and scholarly activities across our university community.
Recognizing that exceptional teaching is fundamentally enriched by cutting-edge research, the OAR is committed to nurturing a supportive and inclusive research environment where faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to engage meaningfully in research and scholarly activities.
The OAR acts as the primary liaison between Yorkville University and both internal departments and external partners, including research councils, industry leaders, professional associations, and funding foundations.
We streamline research operations to ensure efficiency, transparency, and compliance with ethical standards. This includes overseeing internal funding programs, supporting grant applications, coordinating research ethics, and maintaining clear institutional policies and procedures.
We enhance institutional research capacities through one-on-one mentorship support, capacity building programs, and research-focused events. These initiatives offer opportunities to strengthen research skills and expand scholarly growth across disciplines and campuses.
We promote research achievements, facilitate knowledge exchange, and build bridges between the university and broader research communities to maximize the impact of our scholarly contributions. Our efforts include news, newsletters, research spotlights, and annual conference through internal and external Coms channels.
This area emphasizes applied research that directly connects academic knowledge with real-world professional applications. Faculty engage in practice-based inquiry, industry partnerships, and applied research projects that address contemporary challenges in professional fields. This scholarship ensures academic work remains relevant to professional practice and contributes to solving practical problems in various sectors.
This area involves investigation into pedagogical practices, student learning outcomes, and educational effectiveness. Faculty examine teaching methodologies, assess learning strategies, and conduct research on educational innovations to improve instructional quality and student success. This scholarship bridges the gap between academic expertise and effective educational practices. SoTL is overseen by the Center for Teaching Excellence & Innovation.
Guided by the leadership of Indigenous communities, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and scholars, Yorkville aims to grow a research focus that centres Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being through respectful, reciprocal, and collaborative engagement. We are committed to co-developing projects that honour how Indigenous knowledge systems and pedagogies shape learning, support wellness, and nurture the collective futures of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners.
123
SSAF-funded Projects
105
REB-approved Projects
289
Faculty involved in Scholarly Activities
138
Students involved in Scholarly Activities
Matthew Dunleavy (he/him) is an educational developer and scholarly teacher with over 9+ years’ experience. He immediately joins our CTEI from York University where he was an Educational Developer with the Teaching Commons; before entering that role, he served as the Program Director of the Online Learning and Technology Consultants (OLTC) Program at the Maple League of Universities (Acadia University; Bishop’s University; Mount Allison University; and St. Francis Xavier University). In 2022, he was awarded the D2L Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE) for this work.
