About Access, Community + Belonging
Portfolio
Helping Individuals at Risk
Helping Individuals at Risk (HIAR) is a confidential, centralized resource for members of the campus community to report at-risk behaviours or concerns about individuals who are at risk of harm to self or others. HIAR staff can assess risk, help connect individuals to support and resources before situations escalate, and offer guidance on potential next steps.
Office of Safe Disclosure + Human Rights
The Office of Safe Disclosure and Human Rights (OSDHR) provides a safe work, study and living environment for all staff, students, faculty, and members of our volunteer community. OSDHR provides a confidential, neutral and safe space for members of the university community (students, staff and faculty) to speak in confidence about safety violations, financial mismanagement, ethical concerns, discrimination and harassment, among other concerns.
Office of the Student Ombudservice
The Office of the Student Ombuds is a confidential service that strives to ensure that university processes related to students operate as fairly as possible. We offer information, advice, and support to students, faculty, and staff as they deal with academic, discipline, interpersonal, and financial issues related to student programs.
Sexual + Gender-Based Violence Prevention + Response
We are dedicated to addressing sexual and gender-based violence through a collaborative, trauma-informed approach. Initiatives include policy development, training, and creating support networks like the Advisory Council and Options Navigation Network. These efforts ensure a safe, equitable environment for all university community members.
Go to Sexual + Gender-Based Violence Prevention + Response »
Council on Systemic Ableism
The Council on Systemic Ableism is an advisory and decision-making body located in the Office of the Vice-Provost (Access, Community, and Belonging). Its overarching mandate is to support the identification and transformation of ableist policies, practices, and structures in order to create a more accessible, equitable, and affirming ecology for all members of the University of Alberta community, including and beyond those experiencing disability.
Strategic Initiatives
Within the Vice-Provost’s office and across the University, work is under way to ensure access for all, community and belonging.
Team
Vice-Provost - Access, Community + Belonging
Dr. Carrie Smith is the Vice-Provost of Access, Community and Belonging at the University of Alberta, a role she assumed in November 2022. A former Vice-Dean in the Faculty of Arts, Dr. Smith has advanced equity and inclusion through strategic planning and governance reforms. She holds a PhD in Germanic Languages and Literatures and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies. Her research explores feminist activism, creative production, and digital culture. Dr. Smith focuses on fostering collaboration, addressing institutional barriers, and advancing initiatives aligned with the Indigenous Strategic Plan and to enhance student well-being and inclusion.
Academic Leads
The work of the Office of the Vice-Provost (Access, Community and Belonging) is underpinned by the research expertise of many across the University of Alberta academic community. Academic Leads are appointed to identify, guide and advance key initiatives in the portfolio in areas of emergent strategic importance impacting academic and student life.
Disability Cultures and Access
Dr. Danielle Peers is an associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation and a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Disability and Movement Cultures. As a scholar and advocate, their work focuses on equity, anti-ableism, and disability justice, integrating critical disability studies with adapted physical activity and socio-cultural movement studies. As Academic Lead, they co-chair the Council on Systemic Ableism and partners with university leaders and service providers to develop the Disability Cultures and Access Hub.
Race Equity
Dr. Shirley Anne Tate is Professor and CRC Tier 1 in Feminism and Intersectionality based in the Sociology Department, and Honorary Professor in CriSHET at Nelson Mandela University, South Africa.
Decolonizing Policies
Dr. Nathalie Kermoal is a professor in the Faculty of Native Studies. As Provost Fellow in Decolonizing Policies, she collaborates with Florence Glanfield (vice-provost, Indigenous Programming and Research) and Carrie Smith (vice-provost, Access, Community, and Belonging), on initiatives such as aligning tenure, promotion, and merit practices with institutional Indigenous and equitable access strategies, updating the Indigenous Student Success Survey and conducting a decolonizing review of university policies. The role reflects the university’s commitment to reconciliation and decolonization, as outlined in Braiding Past, Present and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan , the Strategic Plan for EDI , and Shape: A Strategic Plan of Impact .
Administrative Leads
The Office of the Vice-Provost (Access, Community and Belonging) also includes administrative leads who oversee direction and implementation of policies, strategies, structures and approaches across the University of Alberta.
Sexual and Gender-based Violence
Deb Eerkes serves as the Lead, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response working to enhance institutional policies, procedures and training programs to ensure they align with national best practices, including those identified by the Courage to Act initiative. Deb focuses on systemic improvements and education, building collaborative networks to advance the university’s commitment to addressing and preventing sexual and gender-based violence.Deb has spearheaded key initiatives, including revising the university’s Sexual Violence Policy and Procedures and collaborating on a new Student Conduct Policy to replace sections of the Code of Student Behaviour. She also established the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Advisory Council, a cross-campus group of students, staff, and faculty providing strategic advice on prevention and response efforts.In addition, Deb launched the Options Navigation Network in December 2023, which supports individuals disclosing sexual and gender-based violence by offering comprehensive guidance on available resources and options.
Portfolio Initiatives Manager (Access, Community + Belonging)
Tim Ira joined the Access, Community and Belonging portfolio in 2024 as the portfolio initiatives manager. Prior to this, he served as the Strategic Initiatives Officer for Indigenous Initiatives and EDI within the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. Tim has a decade of diverse experiences contributing to institutional transformation, including leading LGBTQ2+ inclusion initiatives, sexual violence prevention outreach and strategy, strategically advising on retention for women and gender-diverse persons in the technologies and trades and implementing strategy at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology’s (NAIT), including co-authoring the polytechnic’s first Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy in 2021.
As a graduate student in the Faculty of Education specializing in Social Justice and International Studies, he is working to problematize the perpetuation of colonial relations and social reproduction of racial inequities by streaming learners into post-secondary sub-baccalaureate programs. With his background in student activities and campus-wide mass events, Tim brings a collaborative approach to his work.