Heather Smith

Heather Smith is a Professor in the Faculty of Indigenous Studies, Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), where she is affiliated with the Global and International Studies department and the International Studies Graduate Program. She holds a PhD and MA from Queen's University and a BA from the University of Alberta.

Her research centers on gender and Canadian foreign policy and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Using feminist international relations theory, she critically examines silences in Canadian foreign policy and advocates for student-centered pedagogical innovation. She is currently co-editing the Oxford Handbook of International Studies Pedagogy.

Her recent publications reflect a strong interdisciplinary focus, combining critical international studies with reflective educational practice. Themes include feminist foreign policy, decolonizing narratives, autoethnography, and transformative teaching in disrupted academic environments.

Scientific Awards:

• 3M National Teaching Fellowship (2006)
• Canadian Political Science Excellence in Teaching Award (2012)
• UNBC Excellence in Teaching Award (two-time recipient)
• BCcampus Scholarly Teaching Fellow (2018)

She has held significant leadership roles, including Director of the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology at UNBC (2012–2018), and served as Regional Vice-President Canada for the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL). She is actively involved in mentoring graduate students and supervises in MA International Studies and MA Gender Studies programs. She also co-founded the ISSOTL Fellows Program and facilitated international collaborative writing groups on personal narrative.

She has been a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Political Science at Dalhousie University (2018–2020) and continues to promote innovative, inclusive, and reflexive academic practices.