VICTORIA — The University of Victoria says it has appointed the world's first chair in transgender studies.
Dr. Aaron Devor will work with researchers, community activists and students to advance study into a broad range of topics that affect the lives of transgender people.
The university says Devor will explore crucial issues on the subject including health care, poverty, discrimination and suicide.
A donation of US$1 million from the Tawani Foundation, founded and led by transgender billionaire Jennifer Pritzker, will establish the chair in the university's Faculty of Social Sciences.
Devor says far too many transgender and gender non-conforming people still live in poverty and fear and he will act as a resource for those needing information for their own research or policy development.
The sociology professor is an elected member of the elite International Academy of Sex Research, a fellow of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, and a national award-winning teacher.
