A Wilfrid Laurier University professor is being recognized by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR).

Pyschology Professor Anne Wilson has been appointed as a Fellow in CIFAR’s Successful Societies program.

As a member, Wilson joins other leading academics from sociology, political science, political philosophy, history and economics, who are interested in addressing societal inequalities.

“I will have the opportunity several times a year to meet with a wonderful group of internationally recognized scholars from a number of different disciplines– so it’s a really unique opportunity, to be able to have this chance to connect with people from different areas but all interested in the same problem of successful societies and inequality,” said Wilson.

Wilson added that this is a huge honour for herself and for the University.

“I believe that I am the first CIFAR member to be appointed at Laurier, and it’s quite an honour. It allows the kinds of connections and opportunities that will benefit my research, and it’s just a big thing for this stage of my career and being able to develop new research directions.”

Wilson is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Laurier and currently holds a Canada Research chair in Social Psychology. Her work focuses on the area of personal and social identity.

“I am recognized as a scholar of self and identity over time. It’s really kind of about getting at those psychological reasons that groups have conflicts or tend to disagree– so that contributes to the broader questions that the CIFAR group is asking about inequality in different forms and it’s implications on society.”

Wilson said although she just received the honour, she’s already managed to attend three CIFAR meetings.

“I attended some meetings as a visitor before being named a member. It’s already up and running, and I can already feel the ways in which it’s changing my research’s direction.”

You can learn more Wilson and her research by clicking here.