On June 30, 2017, the day before Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation, his Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, announced 99 new appointments to the Order of Canada. One of Canada’s highest civilian honours, it recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.
Among those appointed was Chad Gaffield, who served as SSHRC’s president from 2006 to 2014. Gaffield was named an officer of the Order of Canada for his leadership in interdisciplinary and multi-institutional collaboration as a historian and administrator, and for his pioneering work in the digital humanities.
Gaffield stands shoulder to shoulder with several SSHRC-funded researchers appointed as members of the Order of Canada, including:
- Gregory S. Kealey, a former member of SSHRC’s governing council, for his sustained academic contributions to Canadian labour relations history and for his administrative leadership of several universities in Atlantic Canada;
- Marguerite Mendell, for her contributions to social and economic innovation and her research to develop innovative policy tools and levers to reduce poverty; and
- William Waiser, for his contributions to Canadian scholarship as Saskatchewan’s pre-eminent provincial historian.
A number of other SSHRC-funded researchers were also appointed in June and December 2016.