PETERBOROUGH - Leonard Conolly, a professor of English and former Trent University President, has been elected to the ranks of the Royal Society of Canada, considered Canada's senior academic accolade.

Conolly is one of 58 new Fellows, two Foreign Fellows, and four Specially Elected Fellows to be inducted into the Royal Society at a November 2002 ceremony in Ottawa. He is the eighth Trent-affiliated fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, placing Trent at the top of the ranks of Canada's primarily undergraduate universities with Royal Society Fellowships.

Conolly joins Tom Symons, Trent's founding President, Bryan Palmer, a Senior Canada Research Chair in Trent's Canadian Studies department, and retired Philosophy professor John Burbidge as a member in the Society's Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences. Other Trent members in the Academy of Science are: Wayne Evans, Environmental and Resource Studies (ERS)/Physics professor; Tom Hutchinson, ERS/Biology professor, former Trent Chancellor Kenneth Hare, and Peter Dillon, a professor in the Watershed Ecosystems graduate program.

A member of Trent faculty since 1994, Conolly has worked with the University as both a professor of English and an administrator, having served as President and Vice-Chancellor, and Interim Director of the Trent International Program. Prior to his appointment to Trent, Conolly was a professor at the University of Guelph, where he also held a variety of senior administrative positions.

In its citation of Conolly, the Society described him as "one of the most eminent scholars of theatre history and drama in Canada." The Society also noted that "he was one of the pioneers in the study of Canadian theatre, and has written an important study on censorship in drama, as well as founding two highly respected scholarly journals. His main significance has been in the editorship of award-winning major reference works."

Conolly is internationally recognized for his contributions to British and Canadian theatre scholarship. Among the leading theatre historians in Canada, he has written and edited many books and countless articles on drama and theatre. Most recently, he edited a collection of 183 Bernard Shaw letters; The Selected Correspondence of Bernard Shaw: Bernard Shaw and Barry Jackson was published in May 2002. Conolly's expertise on Shaw was recognized two years ago when he was appointed a Corresponding Scholar of the Academy of the Shaw Festival.

Commenting on his election into the Royal Society of Canada, Conolly said, "It is always gratifying to receive peer recognition for one's scholarly work and it is particularly pleasing when that recognition comes from such a distinguished body as the Royal Society of Canada. I am delighted and honoured to be elected a Fellow."

The Royal Society of Canada: The Canadian Academy of the Sciences and Humanities, is the senior national body of distinguished Canadian scientists and scholars. Its primary objective is to promote learning and research in the natural and social sciences and in the humanities. The Society consists of approximately 1600 Fellows: men and women from across the country who are selected by their peers for outstanding contributions to the arts and sciences.

For more information contact:

Leonard Connolly (705) 748-1011 ext. 1729