91ÒùĸÊÓƵ

The College of Social Sciences and Humanities extends gratitude and best wishes to our colleague Heather Young-Leslie, who has moved to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies as part of a phased retirement plan. 

Young-Leslie began working with the college in 2022 as the inaugural senior research partner. In this role, which is part of the VPRIs 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ Partner Network, she worked closely with college leadership to provide strategic advice and to lead large international and interdisciplinary grants. 

“The College of Social Sciences and Humanities is deeply grateful for the outstanding work of Heather Young-Leslie over the last three years as senior research partner,” says Associate Dean 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ Temitope Oriola. “Dr. Young-Leslie has championed socio-scientific and fine arts research with dedication and kindness. She has been incredibly generous with her time and expertise. The increasing success rate in external funding we have recorded is due in part to the professionalism of individuals like Dr. Young-Leslie and her team working in concert with our researchers. 

“On a personal note, Heather is bubbly and incurably effervescent -- a joy to have around. We will miss Heather at the college.” 

Among her many accomplishments, Young-Leslie was instrumental in bridging the peer review program – an initiative that supports requests for peer review and budget reviews of research grant applications – to the college’s newly created Office of 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ. 

“Personally, I’ve worked with Heather for over 10 years, and we have collaborated on a number of innovative projects: from mapping the research areas of SSHRC applications to building a new budget review process with three different teams,” says Oliver Rossier, director of the Office of 91ÒùĸÊÓƵ.  

“We’re deeply grateful to Heather,” he says. “She’s built entire sets of toolkits and resources for researchers and research teams. She has been such a strong advocate for social sciences and humanities researchers.”

Please join us in wishing Young-Leslie well as she embarks on this new chapter. 

Joining our team

We would also like to welcome Kelsey Wrightson as interim senior research partner for the college. Wrightson, who is a senior research partner for stand-alone faculties, has significant experience with our college and will be a valuable addition to our team during her time in this role.