Morton Beiser
Encyclopedia
Morton Beiser, CM
, MD, FRCP (born November 16, 1936) is a Canadian professor, psychiatrist
and epidemiologist
known for his research in the fields of immigration
and resettlement
.
He is Professor of Distinction at Ryerson University
, Crombie Professor Emeritus of Cultural Pluralism and Health at the University of Toronto
, Founding Director and Senior Scientist at the Ontario Metropolis Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement (CERIS), and a Member of the Order of Canada
.
, Saskatchewan
.
He graduated from medical school at the University of British Columbia
in 1960, with a specialty in psychiatry
. At Duke University
, he pursued studies in sociology, then studied psychiatric epidemiology at Cornell
. In 1971, he was appointed an associate professor at Harvard
.
During his time at Harvard he began research on what would become a life-long fascination with the mental health of immigrants, starting with the health effects of urbanization in Senegal
and the mental health of American Indians
on reservations
.
Beginning in 1975, Beiser was Professor and Head of Social and Cultural Psychiary at the University of British Columbia's
Department of Psychiatry, a position he held for 16 years.
During the 1980s he continued his research as Principal Investigator for the "Refugee Resettlement Project", a ten-year study of the health and experiences of the "Boat People
", immigrants from Southeast Asia
to Canada
. In 1986, he was appointed chair of a federal government task force on the issue, and in 1988 authored the final report of the committee, After the Door Has Been Opened.
In 1991, he joined the University of Toronto
where he was David Crombie Professor of Cultural Pluralism and Health, and Vice-President for Research, Department of Psychiatry, National Scientific Coordinator, Reducing Health Disparities Initiative, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2002-2005), and Founding Director of the Ontario Metropolis Centre of Excellence for Research in Immigration and Settlement (1996-2003).
During his tenure at the University of Toronto
, Beiser has received over $17 million in research grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
, the United States
National Institutes of Health
, and other peer-review sources.
He has authored more than 150 scientific research papers, a book about the Boat People entitled Strangers at the Gate, and is co-editor of the forthcoming Immigration, Ethnicity, and Health. He also conceived and produced a radio program on immigration in Canada which was aired from 1999 to 2000 in Ontario
and Alberta
, as well as a version for Canadian students, Strangers Becoming Us, to be used in the classroom, seeking to move his research from the realm of scientific research to policy debate. Strangers Becoming Us is still in use in all public elementary and high schools in Canada
.
Beiser is currently Professor of Distinction at Ryerson University
.
, Canada
, and in Grignan
, France
, with his husband, author J. Timothy Hunt
. He has five sons: David Beiser, director of the International Grants Program, AYUSA Global Youth Exchange; award-winning journalist Vince Beiser
; film and television actor Brendan Beiser
and twins Daniel and Rowan Beiser. He is the cousin of computer science author Boris Beizer
.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, MD, FRCP (born November 16, 1936) is a Canadian professor, psychiatrist
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
and epidemiologist
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
known for his research in the fields of immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
and resettlement
Resettlement
Resettlement:*can refer to voluntary or involuntary human migration*can be a euphemism for forced migration*can be a euphemism for population transfer...
.
He is Professor of Distinction at Ryerson University
Ryerson University
Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...
, Crombie Professor Emeritus of Cultural Pluralism and Health at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, Founding Director and Senior Scientist at the Ontario Metropolis Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement (CERIS), and a Member of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
.
Career history
Beiser was born in ReginaRegina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
.
He graduated from medical school at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
in 1960, with a specialty in psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
. At Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, he pursued studies in sociology, then studied psychiatric epidemiology at Cornell
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. In 1971, he was appointed an associate professor at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
During his time at Harvard he began research on what would become a life-long fascination with the mental health of immigrants, starting with the health effects of urbanization in Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and the mental health of American Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
on reservations
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
.
Beginning in 1975, Beiser was Professor and Head of Social and Cultural Psychiary at the University of British Columbia's
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
Department of Psychiatry, a position he held for 16 years.
During the 1980s he continued his research as Principal Investigator for the "Refugee Resettlement Project", a ten-year study of the health and experiences of the "Boat People
Boat people
Boat people is a term that usually refers to refugees, illegal immigrants or asylum seekers who emigrate in numbers in boats that are sometimes old and crudely made...
", immigrants from Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. In 1986, he was appointed chair of a federal government task force on the issue, and in 1988 authored the final report of the committee, After the Door Has Been Opened.
In 1991, he joined the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
where he was David Crombie Professor of Cultural Pluralism and Health, and Vice-President for Research, Department of Psychiatry, National Scientific Coordinator, Reducing Health Disparities Initiative, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2002-2005), and Founding Director of the Ontario Metropolis Centre of Excellence for Research in Immigration and Settlement (1996-2003).
During his tenure at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, Beiser has received over $17 million in research grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canadian Institutes of Health Research is the major federal agency responsible for funding health research in Canada. It is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada. It aims to create new health knowledge, and to translate that knowledge from the research setting into real world...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, and other peer-review sources.
He has authored more than 150 scientific research papers, a book about the Boat People entitled Strangers at the Gate, and is co-editor of the forthcoming Immigration, Ethnicity, and Health. He also conceived and produced a radio program on immigration in Canada which was aired from 1999 to 2000 in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, as well as a version for Canadian students, Strangers Becoming Us, to be used in the classroom, seeking to move his research from the realm of scientific research to policy debate. Strangers Becoming Us is still in use in all public elementary and high schools in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Beiser is currently Professor of Distinction at Ryerson University
Ryerson University
Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...
.
Personal life
He lives in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and in Grignan
Grignan
Grignan is a commune in the Drôme department in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It has a magnificent Renaissance castle and is mentioned in the letters that Madame de Sévigné wrote to her daughter, Madame de Grignan, in the 17th century....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, with his husband, author J. Timothy Hunt
J. Timothy Hunt
James Timothy Hunt is an American-Canadian author and journalist.- Biography : Hunt was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and attended university in Montana, receiving a B.S. in Economics and Business Administration from Rocky Mountain College in 1981...
. He has five sons: David Beiser, director of the International Grants Program, AYUSA Global Youth Exchange; award-winning journalist Vince Beiser
Vince Beiser
Vince L. Beiser is an American-Canadian journalist.- Biography :Vince was born on the 13th of July in New York City, United States, to Order of Canada recipient Morton Beiser and Commemorative Medal for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and Government of Canada Celebration ’88 Certificate of Merit...
; film and television actor Brendan Beiser
Brendan Beiser
Brendan Joseph Beiser is a Canadian actor best known for his performance as Agent Pendrell in the science fiction television show The X-Files.- Personal life :...
and twins Daniel and Rowan Beiser. He is the cousin of computer science author Boris Beizer
Boris Beizer
Boris Beizer is an American software engineer and author. He received his B.S. degree in physics from the City College of New York in 1956, an MS in Electrical Engineering and a PhD in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966. He has written many books and articles on topics...
.
Awards, recognition, and residencies
- National Health Scholar and Scientist Awards, Canada’s National Health Research and Development Program (1981-1999)
- Honorary Member, Belgian Royal Society of Medicine (1975)
- Distinguished Scholar Award, Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation (1974-1975)
- University of Toronto Beverley Distinguished Professor Award (1988)
- Joey and Tobey Tanenbaum Research Award (1994)
- Rockefeller FoundationRockefeller FoundationThe Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
Resident Scholar Award (1995) - Canadian Psychiatric Association Award for Research in Psychiatric Epidemiology (2002)
- Queen’s Golden Jubilee medalQueen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee MedalThe Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II...
(2002) - Member of the Order of CanadaOrder of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(2004)