Faculty of Community Services

Biography:

Biography

Dr. George came to Ryerson in 2006 from the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto, where she had been a faculty member since 1994 and Associate Dean since 1999. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, an M.A. in Sociology from Loyola University of Chicago, and an M.A. in Sociology, a B.Sc. in Chemistry, and a B.Ed. from the University of Kerala, India.

At the University of Toronto, Dr. George held the Royal Bank Chair in Applied Social Work Research. Since 2003, she has a cross-appointment with the Centre for Urban and Community Studies at the University of Toronto, and has been Director of the Joint Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement (CERIS).

The focus of Dr. George's scholarship, teaching and creative professional activity has been in the area of social work with diverse communities. Her research focuses on three areas: social development; newcomer settlement and integration; and diversity and organizational change. Since joining the University of Toronto she has completed 45 peer-reviewed publications and has generated over $8 million in research and related activities. Dr. George was instrumental in developing the Anti-racism, Multiculturalism and Native Issues (AMNI) Initiative at the Faculty of Social Work at U of T, which is a comprehensive approach to embracing diversity in the organizational functioning of the Faculty.

Dr. George has extensive university teaching, research and administrative experience, in India, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and the U.S. She works in partnership with several community agencies on research and knowledge transfer activities, and has worked closely with a number of government agencies. Dr. George has served on a variety of community-based boards such as the Scarborough Board of Health and the Toronto District Health Council. She has served as Chair of both the South Asian Family Support Services and the Coalition of Agencies serving South Asians, and as Vice-President of the Board of the Social Planning Council of Metropolitan Toronto. She is currently a board member of United Way of York Region.

Recent Publications

Books

Immigration and Settlement in Canada. (2007). Booksurge Publishers.

Chapters in Books

George, U. (2010) Canadian Immigration Policy. Segal, Uma A.; Mayadas, Nazneen S. & Elliott, Doreen. (eds. ) Immigration Worldwide: Policies, Practices and Trends.  New York, NY: Oxford University Press. (pp95-11)

George, U. (2006). Immigration and refugee policy in Canada: Past, present and future. In Anne Westhues (Ed.), Canadian social policy (4th edition) (P349-374) Waterloo:Wilfrid Laurier Press.).

George, U. (2006). Social Development and Social Capital: conceptual and theoretical frameworks. In Yan, M.U. & Gao, J.G. (Ed). Community Work: A Dialogue of Two Horizons (p. 82-103). Chinese Social Sciences Press. 

George, U. (2003). Immigration and refugee policy in Canada: Past, present and future. In Anne Westhues (Ed.), Canadian social policy (3rd edition) (pp. 145-163). Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier Press.

Articles in Refereed Journals

George, U. & Chaze, F.(2009) The Role of Social Capital In Settlement: Employment. Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work., 24 (4), 394-405. 

George, U. & Chaze, F. Tell me what I need to know: South Asian Women, Social capital and Settlement (2009).  Journal of International Migration and Integration, 10(3),265-282.

George, U.  Mexican Migration to Canada:  Case Study Report  (2008 ) Journal of Immigration and Refugee Studies Special Issue. Volume 6,Number 3, 463-474.

George, U. ( 2008) Social Policy for Canada. Social Development Issues. Volume 30(3), 1-12.

McGrath, S., George, U., & Lee, B. Moffatt, K. (2007) Social Justice: The goal of community practice in diverse communities. Social Development Issues, 29(2), 77-91.

Doyle, R. & George, U. (2007) Organizational change in a Faculty of Social Work: Indicators for Assessment. Social Work Education, 26, 1-14.

Keenan, E.K., Tsang, A. K. T., Bogo, M., & George, U. (2005) Micro ruptures and repairs in the beginning phase of cross-cultural psycho-therapy. Clinical Social Work Journal,  33 (3), 271-289.

Moffatt, K., George, U., McGrath, S., & Lee, B. (2005). Community practice researchers as reflective learners. British Journal of Social Work, 35(1), 89-104.

George, U. (2004). Globalization and the making of multi-ethnic Canada: Implications for Asia-Pacific region. Indian Journal of Canadian Studies, XII,  34-52.

Ahmad, F., Shik, A., Vanza, R., Cheung, A., George, U., & Stewart, D.E. (2004) Voices of South Asian women: Immigration and mental health. Women and Health, 40(4), 113-130.

Keenan, E. K., Tsang, A. K. T., Bogo, M., & George, U. (2004). Do social workers integrate socio-cultural issues in mental health session dialogue? Social Work in Mental Health, 2 (4), 37-62.

Ahmad, F., Shik, A., Vanza, R., Cheung, A., George, U., Stewart, D.E. (2004). Popular health promotion strategies of Chinese and East Indian immigrant women. Women and Health, 40 (1), 21-40.

George, U., Moffatt, K., Lee, B., & McGrath S. (2003). Exploring citizenship in contemporary community practice. Journal of Community Practice, 11(3), 71-85.

Maiter, S. & George, U. (2003). Understanding context and culture in the parenting approaches of immigrant South Asian mothers. AFFLIA, 18(4), 411-428.

Tsang, A.K.T., Bogo, M., & George, U. (2003). Critical issues in cross-cultural counselling research: Case example of an ongoing project. Journal of Multicultural Counselling and Development, 31(1), 63-78.

 
Current projects

1. Discrimination in the workplace: a study of highly skilled foreign-trained newcomers. (2007 - 2010)
Social Science and Humanities Research Council
Principal Investigator: U. George
Co-investigator: E.Fuller-Thomson (University of Toronto)

2. Impact of Collective Trauma on Community Practice
Social Science and Humanities Research Council
Principal Investigator: L. Lawlor (McMaster University)
Co-investigator. U. George, B. Lee (McMaster University), K. Moffatt (Ryerson University).