News

Congratulations to Randy Allen Harris, professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, who has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). Dr. Harris is part of a cohort of distinguished Canadians who have made remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, as well as in Canadian public life.

A doctoral degree is the ultimate culmination of hard work and dedication. From countless hours attending seminars and conducting research, to TA'ing courses and preparing a dissertation, our PhD students have shown grit and determination from the outset. While the pandemic may have impacted the way research and courses were conducted, it cannot take away from the monumental accomplishment of completing a doctoral degree.

This Spring Convocation the Faculty of Arts proudly celebrates our undergraduate class of 2022, who represent the vast majority of graduands walking across the convocation stage. As part of our multiple celebrations of grads and honourees, we warmly congratulate the distinguished Arts undergraduates receiving special awards and honours.

For her outstanding work as a marketing associate for a cybersecurity organization, Ingrid Kaffka, a major in English Rhetoric, Media and Professional Communication, has been selected 2021 Co-op Student of the Year in the Faculty of Arts.

Tony Urquhart passed away on January 26 at the age of 87. He was one of Canada’s great artists. As a professor of fine arts at the University of Waterloo from 1972 to 1999, Urquhart is also remembered as a great teacher and a warm and generous man.

Congratulations to Lucy Vorobej, a History PhD candidate, for winning a national Doctoral Completion Award from the Associated Medical Services (AMS) History of Medicine and Healthcare Program.

The Government of Canada has just announced 43 Canada Research Chairs (CRC), including Professor Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher of the Faculty of Arts, who holds the CRC in Science, Health, and Technology Communication. Concurrently announced, Mehlenbacher has also won funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to support her research infrastructure.

Congratulations to Professor Geoffrey Fong of the Department of Psychology for being appointed Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the nation's highest honours. Fong is the founder and chief principal investigator of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (ITC project), leading a team of more than 150 researchers across 31 countries covering more than half of the world’s population.

The Faculty of Arts is pleased to partner on a new fundraising initiative in support of research and learning focused on Palestinian peace-building, conflict avoidance, co-existence and cultural understanding.

Over the lockdown(s), the Humanities Theatre in Hagey Hall quietly changed hands from being centrally managed for all its years of operation to Faculty of Arts management. Given its location and name, many might have assumed the theatre had always lived under the administrative umbrella of Arts, but that’s not the case — until now.