Nicole Ives, Professor

Nicole Ives is a Professor and Interim Director of Indigenous Access McGill at McGill University School of Social Work. Dr. Ives’ research areas include refugee and immigrant issues, particularly refugee resettlement, refugee sponsorship, refugee family reunification, Indigenous social work education and Indigenous social and educational policies. Research projects include a study of Syrian refugee long-term integration outcomes; an exploration of a recreational setting as a vehicle to support belonging for refugee children; gathering Indigenous youth perspectives on post-secondary education using a storytelling exchange; access to justice for humanitarian immigration applicants in Quebec; understanding collaboration between refugee settlement organizations and early childhood education programs; understanding collaboration between migrant settlement organizations and housing agencies; exploring Inuit conceptualizations of parent/family engagement in secondary school in Nunavik; and discovering experiences of newcomer women in Canada across the homelessness spectrum.

At the undergraduate level, Dr. Ives teaches Indigenous Field Studies, History and Philosophy of Social Work, and Policy and Practice with Refugees. She has taught Qualitative Research Methods and Migration and Social Work at the graduate level. She teaches and is also a founding instructor of Indigenous Field Studies, open to undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Ives is a founding member of Indigenous Access McGill, a program that supports Indigenous students in the School of Social Work and the broader university. She is the faculty liaison to the local World University Service of Canada committee at McGill that sponsors refugee students. She has published articles on Indigenous social work education, Indigenous social policy, and refugee resettlement. She has presented her research on refugee and Indigenous issues both nationally and internationally.

 

Education

Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania) 2005

M.S.W. (University of Pennsylvania) 1996

Danish International Study Program (Copenhagen University) 1991

B.A. (Barnard College) 1991

Employment

2024-present Professor

McGill University, Faculty of Arts, School of Social Work

2012-2024 Associate Professor

McGill University, Faculty of Arts, School of Social Work

2006-2012 Assistant Professor

McGill University, Faculty of Arts, School of Social Work

2005-2006 Adjunct Professor

Rutgers, The State University of NJ, School of Social Work

2006 Adjunct Professor

University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Work

2003-2004 Co-teacher

University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Work

2000-2002 Teaching Assistant

University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Work

2005-2006 Research Associate

R&P Associates, Ltd., Alexandria, VA

Research

Areas of interest

Migration:

  • Refugee/immigrant resettlement practice and policy
  • Issues facing asylum-seeking populations
  • Roles of faith-based organizations in resettlement
  • Comparative migration policy
  • Integration of culture and resettlement

Indigenous social welfare:

  • Impact of social and educational programs and policies
  • Secondary school student retention
  • Social work education with Indigenous Peoples
  • Connections between culture and pedagogy

Description of current research

Nicole Ives’ current qualitative research projects include understanding collaboration between refugee resettlement/ethnic organizations and mainstream, government-funded agencies; exploring cultural perceptions to health care services for individuals with HIV and how they shape health outcomes; exploring Inuit conceptualizations of parent/family involvement in secondary school in Kuujjuaq, Nunavik; examining experiences of newcomer women in Canada across the homelessness spectrum; and assessing the needs of children who have been involved in armed conflict in a resettlement context.


Recent Grants

2016-2021

CIHR - Refugee Integration and Long-Term Health Outcomes in Canada (SyRIA.lth) ($380,892 for Montreal) 

$1.34 million

Principal Applicant: Michaela Hynie (York), Co-applicants: Agic, Cleveland, Hanley, Ives, N., McGrath, McKenzie, et al.

2017-2019 

SSHRC - Exploring belonging: Experiences of refugee children and families in a Montreal recreational setting (through CYRRC)

$10,000

Principal Investigator: Ives, N.,  Co-investigators: Morland, L., Kline, P., Rabiau, M., Martin, S.

2017-2020

SSHRC - Inform Best Practices for Language, Literacy, Learning, Social Integration, Partnership and Child and Family Wellbeing

$2,500.000

Principal Investigator: Ungar, M. (Dalhousie),  Role: Co-investigator

2016-2019

SSHRC A First People's Storytelling Exchange: Intersecting College and Community Circles

$240,000

Principal Investigator: Briscoe, S./Smith, M. E, Co Investigators: Fast, E., Ives, N., Morcom, L. A., Lewis, J. E.

2016-2017

SSHRC - Child and Youth Refugee Research Coalition (CYRRC): Using Research to Inform Best Practices for Language, Literacy, Learning, Social Integration, and Child and Family Wellbeing

$20,000

Principal Investigator: Ungar, M. (Dalhousie),  Grant 11 Co Investigators; 61 collaborators (my role) representing child and youth and refugee resettlement research expertise across Canada

2014-2017

Access to justice’ for humanitarian immigration applicants in Quebec Bar Association

$14,323

Principal Investigator: Kline, P., Co Investigators: Ives, N., Dawes, A.

2013-2014

HRSDC - Exploring collaboration processes across sectors: Bridging services for newcomer women with experiences across the homelessness spectrum

$48,086

Principal Investigator: Ives, N., Co Investigators: Walsh, C., Hanley, J., Este, D.

Publications

Peer-reviewed journal articles:

Hynie, M. McGrath, S., Bridekirk, J., Oda, A., Ives, N., Hyndman, J., Arya, N., Shakya, Y. B., Hanley, J., McKenzie, K., & and SyRIA.lth. (Under review). What role does type of sponsorship play in early integration outcomes? Syrian refugees resettled in six Canadian cities. Refuge.

Hanley, J., Ives, N., Lenet, J., Walsh, C. A., Hordyk, S.-R., Ben Soltane, S., & Este, D. (Accepted). Housing insecurity and health: An intersectional analysis of the experiences of migrant women. International Journal of Migration, Health & Social Care.

Hanley, J., Al Mhamied, A. A. , Cleveland, J., Hajjar, O., Hassan, G., Ives, N., Khyar, R. & Hynie, M. (2018). The social networks, social support and social capital of Syrian refugees privately sponsored to settle in Montreal: Indications for employment and housing during their early experiences of integration. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 50, 2, 123-148.

Ives, N., & Sinha, V. (2016). Exploring the intersection of education and Indigenous status from a Social Determinants of Health Perspective: Parent and family engagement in secondary school in Nunavik. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 7(4). Retrieved from: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/iipj/vol7/iss4/4 DOI: 10.18584/iipj.2016.7.4.4

Morland, L., Ives, N., McNeely, C., & Allen, C. (2016). Collaboration between Head Start and Refugee Resettlement: Improving access to early childhood education for refugees. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.

Walsh, C., Hanley, J., Ives, N., & Hordyk, S.-R. (2016). Exploring the experiences of newcomer women with insecure housing in Montréal, Canada. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 17, 887-904.

Ives, N., Hanley, J., Walsh C., & Este, D. (2014). Transnational elements of newcomer women’s housing insecurity: Remittances and social networks. Transnational Social Review, 4, 2-3, 152-167. http://dx/doi.org/10.1080/21931674.2014.950107

Sjollema, S. D., Hordyk, S. R., Walsh, C. A., Hanley, J., & Ives, N. (2012). Found poetry – Finding home: A qualitative study of homeless immigrant women. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 25, 4.

Durst, D., & Ives, N. (2012). Social work education in Canada’s North: Capacity building through social work.  Journal of Comparative Social Work, 1.http://jcsw.no/local/media/jcsw/docs/jcsw_issue_2012_1_8_essay.pdf

Ives, N., Sinha, V., Leman, D., Goren, A., Levy-Powell, R., & Thomson, W. (2012). Exploring the intersection of culture and education in Nunavik. Journal of Comparative Social Work, 1.http://jcsw.no/local/media/jcsw/docs/jcsw_issue_2012_1_3_article.pdf

Book chapters:

Fast, E., Trocmé, N., & Ives, N. (2014). The Inuit of Nunavik: Urbanization as a Product of Colonialism. In Herman J. Michell and Cathy Wheaton (eds.), KITASKINO: Key issues, challenges and visions for Northern Aboriginal communities in Canada. Vernon, BC: J. Charlton.

Ives, N., & Loft, M. (2013). Building bridges with Indigenous communities through social work education. In M. Gray., J. Coates, M. Yellow Bird, and T. Hetherington (Eds.), Decolonising social work (pp. 239-255). London: Ashgate.

 

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