Dr. Toni Schmader in the Douglas Kenny Building. Photo: Mary Roujouleh, Ibda Photography.
Dr. Toni Schmader to become UBC Psychology’s next department head.
On July 1, 2024, Dr. Toni Schmader (she/her/hers) will be the first woman to lead UBC’s Department of Psychology. This three-year appointment marks a new chapter in the department’s history.
She succeeds Dr. Geoffrey Hall, who we thank for his leadership and inspiration over the last 10 years as department head.
Dr. Schmader, who joined the department in 2009, brings a wealth of experience and insights to her new role. Dr. Schmader is the Director of Engendering Success in STEM and the Social Identity Lab. Her research examines how stereotypes and bias constrain people’s performance, preferences, and self-views, with a particular focus on gender stereotypes and implicit bias.
In 2021, Dr. Schmader co-led the effort to establish a Psychology EDI Task Force in response to global anti-Black racism protests, incidents of systemic racism in Canada, and calls within the UBC Psychology community for meaningful change. The task force published a comprehensive report with over 45 recommendations to advance equity, diversity, inclusion in the department. Nine working groups were formed to implement the recommendations strategically across a 5-year period.
In a Q&A, Dr. Schmader shares her vision for the department and her goal of fostering greater cross-collaboration across research areas and between students and faculty.
What is your overall vision for the Department of Psychology?
The Department of Psychology at UBC is a leader on the world stage in cutting-edge research across a range of sub-disciplines. We are also a leading organizational unit here at UBC. And yet we face several challenges in the coming years, including a tightening budgetary climate, increased demand for our courses, and a fractured sense of community. My vision for the next three years is to build on and expand our strengths both in the field as a whole and within our university. To do this, I will be jumpstarting a series of strategic planning discussions to map out our short and longer-term goals for faculty hiring, graduate training, curriculum design, and community building.
“UBC Psychology is filled with incredibly innovative and collegial people who hold a shared vision for the strength and the potential for our discipline. I most look forward to working alongside people in the department to develop and implement creative solutions to our challenges.”
What are you most looking forward to as the new Department Head?
UBC Psychology is filled with incredibly innovative and collegial people who hold a shared vision for the strength and the potential for our discipline. I most look forward to working alongside people in the department to develop and implement creative solutions to our challenges. I’m eager to work with our fantastic group of Associate Heads: Amori Mikami, Anita DeLongis, Catherine Rawn, and Jim Enns. Although I’m coming into the role with some of my own ideas of how harness our talents and build a more inclusive sense of community, I’m also keen to brainstorm ideas from staff, students, and other faculty across all levels in the department.
The war and violence in Israel and Gaza has heightened tensions on campuses across the US—and now Canada. What challenges do you anticipate? And what opportunities can come from this?
I understand that I’m entering into this role at a time of unusual strife and division. Across many contexts, with the war between Israel and Hamas being a salient example, it is a challenge to find the right balance between providing psychologically safe spaces in which diverse groups of people can live, work, and learn and protecting and encouraging freedom of speech and dialogue about issues where views will be divergent. These broader cultural challenges are larger than any one department. Within our own department, I will promote a multi-pronged approach that focuses on fostering connection and support to any members of community feeling vulnerable, unsafe, or isolated due to larger political events while also allowing for respectful dialogue, discussion, and debate that encourages open curiosity and compassion.
Your background is in social personality psychology, with a focus on social stereotypes and implicit bias. What insights can you bring to the Department Head position?
I’ve always been drawn to ways in which psychological theory and evidence can be used to better understand and address real-world problems. My interest in the causes and consequences of stereotyping and implicit bias has led in more recent years to research on inclusive organizations. My work on the department’s EDI task force in 2021 and on the EDI committee this past year have already allowed me to initiate and support a variety of programs and practices to foster greater inclusion in the department. These have included the creation of the Associate Head position for EDI; an allocation of funds to support EDI training, mentoring, and consultation; and transparent monitoring of progress toward a defined set of goals. As Department Head, I will continue to support for these efforts toward equity, diversity, and inclusion in the department.
You’re UBC Psychology’s first woman Department Head! What legacy do you hope to leave?
I’ve been inspired by the leadership examples of many people – women and men – who have contributed to the success and well-being of the department and the students we serve. Although I might be the first woman to serve as Department Head, women have long contributed to the leadership in our department in many ways. That said, I recognize that there is value in having women in leadership roles if only to expand our understanding of what is possible for the next generation. At a more personal level, it’s important for my daughter and son to see examples of women in leadership positions.
“Geoff Hall has been an incredible and inspiring Head who has made a lot of positive changes toward more distributed forms of leadership in the department.”
What keeps you interested and inspired in your field?
Psychology has been described as a ‘hub science’ in that our basic science discoveries are often borrowed and cited by neighbouring disciplines. I’m constantly inspired by the sheer diversity of what we study and the positive impact it can have on inspiring other research and improving people’s lives. One goal I have for our department is to promote greater cross-collaboration between students and faculty across our areas.
What are some of your favourite things to do to relax and recharge?
I feel very fortunate to live and work on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. I start every morning by walking my dog Cooper by the beach or in sight of the mountains, on weekends you can often find me taking my kids on hikes through the forest or bike rides along the seawall, and in the winter you might find us skiing at Whistler or Cypress.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
I want to add a note about the depth of gratitude I have for the work that Geoff Hall has done over the past decade leading our department through some very challenging times. Geoff has been an incredible and inspiring Head who has made a lot of positive changes toward more distributed forms of leadership in the department. I think those changes have paved the way for me and those who come after to step into this role in way that allows for some continuity of governance but also with an opportunity to make changes. In addition, I’m grateful to all of the staff in the department who invest so much of themselves into our organization and making it such a positive working environment.
