Trent University is pleased to announce that Dr. John Wadland, professor emeritus and preeminent expert in the field of Canadian Studies, is the recipient of the 2010 Eminent Service Award, the University’s top service award, and will be presented with the distinction during the morning convocation ceremony on Wednesday, June 2.

“It’s an incredible honour. I’m very touched by this,” said Dr. Wadland after receiving a phone call at his home today from Trent University president Dr. Steven E. Franklin. “When Steven phoned I was overwhelmed. It’s just a privilege to have worked at Trent. That for me was a great joy.”

Although Prof. Wadland retired in July 2008, he is often on campus and involved in Trent events. “I’m still doing my research and still do stuff around the place, like to alumni gigs where I can see my former students. I love the place. I can’t stay away,” he said.

Prof. Wadland’s remarkable career at Trent spanned more than 35 years in the Canadian Studies Department. He began teaching at Trent in 1972 as the first full-time appointment to the Canadian Studies program. Prof. Wadland’s signature course, “Canada: the Land,” soon became one of the best-known and most influential courses in the humanities. This course, along with “Culture and Communications in Canada”, “Bioregionalism” and “Canadian Images” helped to define new interdisciplinary models and ways of understanding Canada for generations of Trent students.

The inaugural winner of the Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1977, Prof. Wadland subsequently achieved external recognition for his outstanding teaching from the Association for Canadian Studies in 1992 and the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations in 1993. He was the chair of the Canadian Studies Program from 1985 to 1993 and in 2006-07, editor of the Journal of Canadian Studies from 1980 to 1984, and director of the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies between 1996 and 2000. In 2005, the John Wadland Graduate Scholarship, one of the largest endowments for graduate-level Canadian Studies in the country, was established at Trent University in his honour.

“Through his distinguished combination of teaching, administrative leadership, fundraising, and community service, John Wadland has played an outstanding role in enhancing Trent’s reputation as a university dedicated to teaching excellence, to national and international leadership in the field of interdisciplinary Canadian Studies, and to the promotion of ecological consciousness and sustainable community development,” read the letter nominating Prof. Wadland for the award.

Established in 1978, the Eminent Service Award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the life of Trent University above and beyond excellence in carrying out their employment or volunteer responsibilities. It is normally awarded at the culmination of service to Trent. The award is presented on behalf of the Board of Governors, acting upon the recommendation of the Senate.

Posted on Friday, March 26, 2010.