Social work prof wins Fraser Professorship

by Lynne Dulaney-MacNicol

A professor in the Faculty of Social Work is the second scholar to be awarded the prestigious Fraser Professorship in Community Economic Development.
John Graham was recently awarded the five-year professorship, which was established in 1998 in memory of the late University of Calgary president Murray Fraser.

Graham’s research focuses on Canadian social policy and international social development in the Middle East.

Under terms of this endowed professorship, he will maintain his research trajectory in enhancing communities ’ social capacities.

Graham is also principal investigator of a recent three-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant examining social service delivery with Muslim communities in Canada, the United States, Malaysia, Egypt, and Pakistan.

“ We are pleased and proud to host the Fraser professorship in the Faculty of Social Work, and in so doing, to showcase the important role our discipline and profession can make to community economic development,” says Gayla Rogers, dean of the Faculty of Social Work.

“ I’m certain John will make a significant contribution to the professorship in terms of knowledge building and practice through his teaching, research and community involvement. ”

As president of the International Social Development Unit (ISDU), Graham plans to continue to work closely with an interdisciplinary team of tenured scholars committed to the trans-regional analysis of international social development.
“ The work of the Fraser professorship will capture the trans-regional analysis of social development, Graham says, “which is essential both in our multicultural country and in an era of globalization. ”

Over the next five years, Graham and his collaborators will examine the role of social service systems in enhancing the lives of people.

Karim-Aly Kassam, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Communication and Culture, was appointed in 1998 as the first Fraser professor.