Royal Society of Canada honours Waterloo history professor

WATERLOO, Ont. (Friday, September 6, 2013) – A professor from the University of Waterloo who is an expert in human rights and race relations in Canada has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC).

Professor Jim Walker of the Faculty of Arts received the honour after his peers selected him from a list of exceptional candidates. He teaches in the Department of History at Waterloo.

"The university is proud to have an internationally recognized scholar like Professor Walker among our faculty,’’ said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of Waterloo. “His work examining the importance of human rights in society has universal applications, and therefore the potential for positive impact in Canada and around the world. We congratulate him on this deserved honour."

Professor Walker teaches and conducts research in Canadian and international human rights, race relations in Canada, immigration and African-Canadian history.

In honouring Professor Walker, the RSC noted, "His scholarship and teaching on racial equality in Canada since World War II have influenced an entire generation of Canadians both within and outside the academy. His research helped launch African-Canadian history and aboriginal history as fields of historical inquiry."

He is a former Bora Laskin National Fellow in Human Rights Research and the author of several works relating to the historical development of human rights.

"When I look around at other people on this campus who are fellows, I’m absolutely delighted and flattered to be in their company," said Professor Walker. "I’m hopeful that this recognition from the society will reinforce a trend in the historical discipline to undertake studies in human rights and race relations because understanding how we get our rights and what problems they were intended to solve helps us to apply and protect them."

Professor John E. Thompson, professor emeritus from the Faculty of Science, and associate vice-president, university research at Waterloo, is recognized as a Life Member. He has been an RSC fellow since 1987. The honour comes after 25 years of fellowship.

Professor Walker is among 84 new fellows, and will be inducted in a formal ceremony on November 16 at the annual general meeting of the RSC in Banff, Alberta.

Professor Walker James

About the University of Waterloo

In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's technology hub, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 35,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about Waterloo, please visit www.uwaterloo.ca.

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