A new chapter at HRREC

Join us this September 23 as we mark an exciting new chapter at the Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC). We will welcome our new Director, Professor Penelope Simons, as she begins her tenure leading the Centre’s vital work in research, education, and advocacy.

We will also take this opportunity to thank Professor John Packer for two mandates of dedicated leadership, during which the Centre expanded its reach, deepened its impact, and navigated important global and local human rights challenges.

We are also pleased to extend a warm welcome to Professor Anne Levesque, holder of the Gordon F. Henderson Chair in Human Rights (2025–2028), whose work will further strengthen our commitment to justice and equity.

Professor Mary Helen McSweeney, holder of the Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Human Rights and Social Justice, who brings a rich comparative and cross-border perspective to her research on the impact of medical assistance in dying (MAID) legislation on primary care providers in Canada.

Finally, Ratana Ly, our Gordon F. Henderson Postdoctoral Fellow (2025–2026), whose research on Canadian companies in the mining industries in Southeast Asia will shed new light Canada’s foreign policy on sustainable development, human rights, labour rights, and the environment.

We look forward to celebrating this moment of transition and renewal with our colleagues, students, and partners.