Faculty of Law welcomes Director of Experiential Learning

The University of Calgary Faculty of Law is pleased to welcome Professor Haley Hrymak as Director of Experiential Learning, effective July 1, 2026.

The Director of Experiential Learning is a new role within the faculty and is designed to support the growth and coordination of clinical and experiential learning opportunities. Hrymak will oversee initiatives such as Student Legal Assistance and contribute to teaching and research in the areas of clinical legal education and experiential learning.

“Being in this position will allow there to be collaboration amongst all the existing clinical programs,” Hrymak said. “The role allows for a path forward to conduct academic research to better understand the impacts of the existing clinical opportunities, where there are opportunities to expand them, and where more in-depth research on clinical learning can take place.”

Hrymak is currently completing a PhD at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. Her research examines the intersection of family law systems and family violence, with a focus on how legal systems operate in practice.

In addition to her academic work, Hrymak has worked as a staff lawyer at Rise Women’s Legal Centre, a community-based legal clinic in British Columbia. In this role, she provided legal services, conducted research and engaged in systemic advocacy, and contributed to seminar-based instruction for law students.

Beyond law students, Hrymak’s experience teaching and training a range of audiences, includes legal professionals and community organizations and focuses on experiential learning, with an emphasis on integrating legal theory with practice-based skills development.

“My work has led me to want to better understand and explore how the law and the existing colonial legal systems affect access to justice,” she said. “My research agenda examines how legal systems operate in practice for court users with particular attention to survivors of family violence and others who are navigating state legal processes.”

At the University of Calgary, Hrymak will support the Faculty of Law’s clinical and experiential learning initiatives, including program development and engagement with the legal community. 

According to Hrymak, this opportunity will allow her to focus on how to improve the legal systems to better serve the people who are affected by them most.

“This role calls for big innovative thinking, which to me is an opportunity to
think about the students and the community more broadly, and the ways in which the university can expand its existing clinical and experiential learning.”