A new initiative is set to transform how northern communities connect, collaborate and shape their educational futures.

Sylvia Moore, vice-provost, Labrador Campus, and dean of Memorial University’s School of Arctic and Subarctic Studies pro tempore, has been appointed the inaugural chair of Indigenous and northern education by the University of the Arctic (UArctic).

Dr. Moore has demonstrated leadership in shaping educational programs prioritizing Indigenous knowledge, self-determination and cultural revitalization.

In this role, she will lead efforts to strengthen northern education, foster collaboration among Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars and centre Indigenous languages, cultures and land-based learning in education in the circumpolar North.

Connecting northern voices

Many northern and Indigenous communities work in isolation, facing barriers to collaboration and knowledge-sharing. 

As chair of Indigenous and northern education, Dr. Moore will unite educators, researchers and students to create stronger, more connected learning environments — grounded in the knowledge, traditions and priorities of the North. 

Through her appointment, Dr. Moore will support educators across the circumpolar North through course development; strengthen partnerships between educators, universities and research institutions; mentor the next generation of northern scholars, including master’s and PhD students; advance research on Indigenous and northern education, decolonization and land-based learning; and share knowledge across the UArctic network. 

Legacy of leadership

Over more than a decade, she has played an instrumental role in developing place-based and Northern-focused programming at Labrador Campus, including the graduate-level Arctic and Subarctic Futures Program and the new Bachelor of Arctic and Subarctic Interdisciplinary Studies Program that began this fall. 

In addition to teaching, Dr. Moore has supervised and mentored numerous Indigenous graduate students who engaged in research on decolonizing and indigenizing education.

Her contributions include co-developing the Inuit Bachelor of Education Program in partnership with the Nunatsiavut Government.

In addition to her UArctic chair role, Dr. Moore is vice-lead of UArctic’s Verdde Indigenous Education Thematic Network, a group of Indigenous and northern scholars and educators focused on advancing Indigenous education and research. 

New era for northern learning

With this appointment, Dr. Moore will work to bridge educators in geographically isolated northern communities and create a stronger, more connected research and learning environment.

By amplifying northern and Indigenous voices and knowledge, she will support what learning looks like across the circumpolar North.

 For more information about UArctic and its initiatives, visit here.

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For more information, please contact Courtenay Griffin, senior communications advisor, strategic priorities, at cgriffin@mun.ca.