Securing commitment: Tenure granted to law professors Curran and Ireland

Assistant Professors David Ireland and Bruce Curran at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law have been officially granted tenure, commencing July 1, 2022. The Faculty could not be more proud of these two deserving and hard-working scholars who have contributed so much to putting Robson Hall on the map of legal research in Canada.

“Congratulations to both Professors Curran and Ireland,” said Dr. Richard Jochelson, Dean of Law. “Tenure-granting is a multilevel process with input from external scholars, the Faculty, the Dean, the Provost, the President and the Board of Governors,” he explained, emphasizing the weightiness of the process.

“This represents a tremendous vote of confidence in both scholars,” Jochelson continued. “I am excited to see where the future leads for both and I am hopeful that it continues to  involve Robson Hall. Outstanding colleagues make for outstanding learning and research environments and Profs Curran and Ireland are two examples of that.”

Dr. Bruce Curran recalled the moment when the Dean notified him of the approval of his application for Tenure. “Professor Jochelson called me personally to share the news just as the December holidays were starting, and I remember feeling equal parts immense relief and extreme joy.  It was the best Christmas present!  The achieving of tenure represents one of the most significant milestones in one’s academic career,” he said. 

“I am thrilled to have been granted tenure, effective July 1, 2022,” said David Ireland. “This is an incredible faculty of dedicated teachers and scholars and I am proud to be joining the tenured ranks. The Robson Hall community of students, alumni, staff and faculty is very important to me and I am simply delighted with receiving tenure.”

Obtaining Tenure at a university is significant to a faculty member because it means that person has security and academic freedom. “I can now do long-term planning for my career at Robson Hall and the University of Manitoba, and for my life in Winnipeg,” Curran explained. “I am originally from Ontario, and while I’d hoped to stay here in Winnipeg, there was always a lingering fear that I wouldn’t get tenure, and would be forced to go elsewhere for my forever job.  I feel more settled now.”

“Although the stereotype is that one slows down after receiving tenure, I plan to continue to keep working hard with my new-found security and freedom and being a force for good at Robson Hall.” – Dr. Bruce Curran

The biggest change that Curran anticipates that will come with his tenure is how he spends his time.   “My pre-tenure days were unusual in that I spent a disproportionately large amount of time on administration and service, and I now plan to spend more time advancing my research agenda.”

Curran’s research is primarily focused on using empirical methods to study labour & employment law and dispute resolution. He holds a PhD in Law from the University of Toronto’s Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, and two Master’s degrees, one in Industrial Relations from U of T and the other in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Osgoode Hall Law School. His JD is from Western University. As a legal educator at Robson Hall, Curran teaches Contracts, Negotiation, and Trusts. He has taught at the Faculty since 2016.

Curran is a member of the national Labour Law Casebook Group which has published the authoritative Canadian casebook for labour and employment law, and has himself published numerous peer-reviewed articles and chapters in the area of labour and employment law.  He is also is a reviewer for a number of academic journals, including the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies.

Ireland is an alum of Robson Hall having obtained both his JD and LLM from the Faculty, and began teaching here in 2016. He returned to his alma mater after practicing criminal law in both defence and prosecution work, and has been involved in public interest legal work concerning inquests, public inquiries and human rights. He teaches criminal law and procedure, evidence law and advocacy, and engages in a research program that centres on improving the delivery of criminal justice in Canada.

Ireland is co-editor of the Manitoba Law Journal’s annual special edition in criminal law and an editor of the criminal law research website, robsoncrim.com. He is currently a co-investigator in three SSHRC-funded research projects all of which focus on the mechanics of the criminal justice system. Research he is involved with is in the area of common law police powers and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as it pertains to the delivery of criminal justice in Canada. He has co-authored Privacy in Peril: Hunter v. Southam and the Drift from Reasonable Search Protections (UBC Press) and is the principal investigator on a research project funded by the Canadian Bar Association titled Common Law Police Powers in Canada – Judicial Creation in the Charter Era.

Story submitted by Faculty of Law.