From: Leah E. Cowen, Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives
Date: April 1, 2022
Re: Appointment of Professor Barbara A. Fallon as Associate Vice-President, Research

I am pleased to announce that the Senior Appointments Committee of Governing Council has approved the appointment of Professor Barbara A. Fallon as Associate Vice-President, Research for a five-year term, from May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2027.

The Associate Vice-President, Research reports to the Vice-President, Research & Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives and has an integral role in furthering the strategic goals of the University. The Associate Vice-President, Research will take academic leadership to raise the quality, impact, and resourcing of our scholarly research by: 

• Working with Academic Divisions to define and track quantitative metrics: developing baselines and benchmarks and tracking our research progress.
• Further developing our culture of the relentless pursuit of inclusive excellence in research, and of faculty members helping other faculty members in this pursuit.
• Leading the institutional support and advocacy for prestigious international and national honours and awards for research and innovation.
• Resourcing and supporting major team grants that benefit teams of faculty members.
• Developing, updating, and resourcing U of T’s research infrastructure roadmap.

Barbara Fallon holds a Canada Research Chair in Child Welfare at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. She was the Associate Dean of Research from 2015-2019 and the PhD Director from 2013-2015. Dr. Fallon received the University of Toronto President’s Impact Award in 2020.  

Her research focuses on the collection and sharing of reliable, valid national and provincial data to provide an evidence-based understanding of the trajectories of children and families in the child welfare system. She is currently the Scientific Director of The First Nations/Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (FN/CIS) and was the Principal Investigator of the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS). These studies provide a comprehensive description of the needs of children and families identified to the child welfare system allowing for evidence-based improvements to policy and practice. Dr. Fallon is also the U of T’s President’s Impact Award in 2020. Her other research interests include comparisons of child protection systems and the contribution of worker and organizational characteristics to child welfare decision making. Dr. Fallon’s transdisciplinary work, including as one of the co-leads of the Fraser Mustard Institute of Human Development Policy Bench, disseminates critical information to promote optimal child health and well-being. 

Dr. Fallon’s past research has helped child welfare workers and policymakers understand the use of risk assessments in child protection investigations and opportunities for early intervention and prevention for children at risk of maltreatment. Her research has contributed to the implementation of key policy initiatives in child welfare including differential response models and specialized intimate partner violence teams. She has received over 20 million dollars in funding as an Investigator and has over 200 peer reviewed publications.  

Professor Fallon has a true passion for enabling research excellence, nurturing collaborative communities, fostering research impact, building partnerships, and facilitating communities of practice. She brings complementary expertise to the leadership in VPRI, which will be instrumental in supporting the breadth of research excellence across our tri-campus University.  Please join me in congratulating her on this new appointment.