The University of Victoria (UVic) has created the world’s first research chair position in transgender studies.
Sociologist and sexologist Aaron Devor was announced as the chair for the new role in early January 2016. Devor—who is transgender—has been teaching at UVic since 1989.
“I’m very pleased and honoured to have this position and I look forward to proceeding to get the work done,” he said. “The goal of this is to make sure all this research happens so we have a solid basis for social change.”
While he only started in the position about a week ago, Devor said there are already a variety of programs he is working on. In March, UVic will host the Moving Trans History Forward conference, something Devor is involved with organizing.
In addition to conducting and supporting research, a large aspect of his position at the university will be helping other professors improve transgender content in their course curriculums and consulting with organizations on trans sensitivity, he said.
Devor holds a PhD in sociology and is the founder and director of the Transgender Archives at the university. The archive is the largest collection of transgender documents and history in the world.
“The University of Victoria has been a leader in this regard,” he said. “They have been very open to what I have asked from them.”
Devor said he has been interested in gender and gender non-conformity throughout his academic career and traces it back to his master’s thesis.
“We didn’t have the word ‘transgender’ in our vocabulary at that point, but I was interested in people who did not fit gender roles and what was going on for them,” he said.
This led to his first book, Gender Blending, published in 1989. Devor said his own identity as transgender came only after he had already been involved in researching the field for quite some time.
Since then, Devor has written two more books and is known to be a well-respected expert on gender, sex, and sexuality.
One thing Devor said he wants people to understand about the trans community is they are not as small a minority as people may think. Devor said he estimates that one in every 200 people is transgender.
Devor said he believes one of the biggest issues in 2016 facing the transgender community is what to do for children and teenagers who identify as trans.
“There are more and more kids all the time,” he said. “Society, thankfully, has come to the realization that this is not something that should be suppressed but how to deal with it appropriately is still a difficult question.”
Devor’s position as research chair was made possible by a $2-million donation to the university by the Tawani Foundation, a charity founded by Jennifer Pritzker, a well-known American billionaire and philanthropist who is also transgender.
While not supporting the position financially, UVic has given their full support and made staff available to him, according to Devor.
“I’ve seen a lot of progress and a lot of goodwill and willingness to keep on working,” he said.
While he is not aware of any positions similar to his being created, Devor said he would be very pleased if other universities followed the example set by UVic.
“I think it would be fantastic if there were similar positions at other universities,” he said. “There is no shortage of need for good, solid research that can inform social change.”
—With files from Elaine Tamblyn-Watts
