Associate professor Eric Li named among Canada’s top scholars by Royal Society of Canada
Faculty of Management associate professor Eric Li has received a prestigious honour from the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), having been named a member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.
The College is Canada’s first national system of multidisciplinary recognition for the emerging generation of Canadian intellectual leadership. Its members have shown a high level of achievement at an early stage of their careers.
Membership in an entity of the RSC is one of the highest honours a Canadian scholar can achieve in the arts, humanities and sciences.
“It is truly an honour to be selected to join the College of New Scholars. This is a very special recognition and I want to thank my colleagues and students at UBCO for continuously working with me and encouraging me throughout the years. It is always challenging to launch and sustain interdisciplinary research programs in academia. I am very fortunate to work with a wonderful group of colleagues, community partners and students to explore innovative solutions to important societal issues. As a new member of the Royal Society of Canada, I will continue to conduct impactful research to address these issues, locally, nationally and globally”.
A leading Canadian scholar in the rapidly evolving field of socio-economic change, Li’s research focuses on areas including food insecurity, health inequity, urban/rural divide, social innovation and the transformation of markets and consumer culture.
“UBC Okanagan is proud to see associate professor Li recognized by the Royal Society of Canada,” UBCO’s vice-principal of research & innovation, Philip Barker said. “His outstanding work reflects UBCO’s excellence in research and our burgeoning proficiency in a number of important fields. We congratulate him on this significant honour and look forward to his continued contributions to advance knowledge that has tangible impacts on our region and our world.”
In addition to his newly-attained status with RSC, Li is also the Principal’s Research Chair in Social Innovation for Health Equity and Food Security and was named UBCO Researcher of the Year in 2021.
He will now join other College members in providing advice to the government and the public; mentoring promising young scholars, artists, and scientists; and connecting with senior RSC Fellows from a variety of disciplines across Canada.