Victoria Burns
Affiliations
Associate Professor
Faculty of Social Work, Calgary Campus
Founder & Director University of Calgary Recovery Community & Recovery on Campus Alberta
Provost
Full Member
Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education
Full Member
Hotchkiss Brain Institute
Adjunct Professor
Community Health Sciences
Contact information
Background
Educational Background
BA (honors) , University of New Brunswick, 2004
PhD , McGill University, 2015
BSW , McGill University, 2007
MSW , McGill University, 2010
Biography
As an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary, I am also the Founder and Director of the UCalgary Recovery Community, Recovery on Campus Alberta, and the Recovering in Place Lab (RIPL). With more than two decades of experience as a social worker, my work bridges research, practice, education, and systems change to improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities.
I am passionate about community-based participatory action research and draw on both professional expertise and lived experience to explore the intersections of place, stigma, addiction, recovery, and belonging. I work alongside people with lived experience to co-create research that informs policy, practice, and systems change.
I am also committed to creative and accessible knowledge mobilization. Through storytelling, documentary film, social media, public scholarship, and community engagement, I strive to make research meaningful beyond academia, raise awareness, and combat stigma.
I welcome inquiries from prospective graduate students interested in joining the Recovering in Place Lab (RIPL), an interdisciplinary research and education hub dedicated to advancing recovery science in Canada. Together with our community partners, students, and people with lived and living experience, we conduct collaborative research to advance recovery-oriented policy, practice, and education. I am particularly interested in working with students whose interests align with community-based participatory action research, stigma, disability, mental health, addiction, recovery, homelessness, belonging, therapeutic landscapes, and recovery-inclusive systems and communities.
Research
Areas of Research
Moving towards Wellness: Combatting Substance-Related Addiction amongst UCalgary Faculty Members
Beyond housing: Creating a sense of place among formerly homeless older adults in Calgary, Alberta
Scaling up Peter Coyle Place, Supportive Housing using a Harm Reduction Approach.
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Professional and Community Associations
I’ve involved and passionate about my work with the Campus Mental Health Strategy’s Substance Use and Harm Reduction Subcommittee. I spearheaded The Faculty of Social Work’s adoption of the Campus Mental Health Strategy –and look forward to being involved in it its implementation.
I’m also a member of UCalgary’s O’Brien Institute of Public Health, and have over a decade of service experience with the Canadian’ Association of Social Work Education’s Social Policy and Advocacy Committee
Licenses
Alberta College of Social Workers Alberta Fitness Leaders Certification
Participation in university strategic initiatives
Courses
| Course number | Course title | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| SOWK 412 LAB 01 B01 | Practicum II | 2020 |
| SOWK 413 SEC 01 S01 | Integrative Seminar II | 2020 |
| SOWK 553.12 | Addiction & Recovery | 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| SOWK 557.44 | Practicing Self-Care & Social Care | 2019, 2021 |
| SOWK 627 | Practice with Communities and Organizations |
Awards
- Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in recognition of contributions to the mental health and addiction field in Alberta, Government of Alberta. 2023
- Research Excellence in Innovation award, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary. 2023
Publications
- “Recovery is complicated”: A qualitative exploration of Canadian university students’ diverse recovery experiences. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. (2024)
- Les personnes âgées en situation d’itinérance : Sont-ils des marginaux de longue date. Victoria Frances Burns. Presse : Université de Laval. (2018)
- Introduction. In Errance : Itinérance parmi les aines. Victoria Frances Burns. (2018)
In the News
- ROC Launches Action Plan - CTV news . https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/university-of-calgary-launches-recovering-in-place-lab/. (2026)
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