Named Chairs & Professorships

The role of the senior industrial research chair (IRC) in biomaterials from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is to build on existing strengths to achieve the critical mass required for a major research endeavour in science and engineering of interest to industry, and/or to develop research efforts in fields that have not yet been developed in Canadian universities but for which there is an important industrial need.

With a multidisciplinary academic background in physics, chemistry and food science, and named one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40 by The Globe & Mail (2011), Dr. Suresh Narine is well-equipped for his IRC role. As Director of the Trent Centre for Biomaterials Research, he has developed collaborative research agreements with the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala, India, The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel, University of the West Indies in Cave Hill, Barbados and the Universidade Estadual Paulista in Botucatu, Brazil. These relationships allow for engagement between among undergraduate and graduate students in multi-country, multi-disciplinary research projects supported by both Industrial Partners and various levels of government in the respective countries, and is expected to accrue to the development of green technologies and internationally trained highly qualified personnel.

As leader in the field of aquatic sciences, Professor Frost joined Trent University as the David Schindler Professor of Aquatic Science in 2010. The David Schindler Endowed Professorship in Aquatic Science is the first privately funded endowed academic professorship at Trent, and was named in honour of Dr. David Schindler, a world-renowned limnologist and former Trent professor. 

Prof. Frost’s research primarily examines the role of nutrients in aquatic food webs through their effects on the nutritional physiology of plants and animals. He is particularly interested in how nutrient limitation alters the metabolism of organisms and their ecological interactions in aquatic ecosystems, and is examining the elemental nutrition of freshwater algae and zooplankton, the ecology of urban aquatic ecosystems, and nutrient dynamics in lake ecosystems.

Dr. Kathryn Norlock, a renowned researcher and scholar in the field of ethics and the ethics of forgiveness, was named the inaugural chair holder of the Kenneth Mark Drain Chair in Ethics at Trent University in 2010. 

The Chair in Ethics was established by members of the Patterson and Drain families through a generous $2 million gift, the largest gift given to Trent by living donors. The Chair is named in honour of Kenneth Mark Drain, “a quintessential son of Peterborough,” who lived and worked in Peterborough County all his life. Celebrating Trent’s commitment to the humanities and critical thinking, the Chair is housed within the Department of Philosophy and underlines Trent’s commitment to a liberal arts and sciences education and its mission to inspire critical thinking.

The School for the Study of Canada is pleased to welcome Dr. Elizabeth Elliot-Meisel for the fall of 2022, as the inaugural Trent University Fulbright Research Chair.  As part of her Fellowship, she will be teaching CAST 4890H: Culture, Literature, Art.  For 2022, this seminar will focus on Comparative Public Memory and Public History, exploring the origins and development of public memory in the United States and Canada and its relationship to professional history. Students seek to answer such questions as: Why have certain historical events and individuals become so important to the people of each nation? Do popular perceptions of those events, memorials, monuments, art, groups, and individuals match in the historical record? What do popular perceptions reveal about inhabitants as a people and a country? The course also investigates and evaluates the ethics of the historical profession and historians’ craft as laid out by the American Historical Association and the Canadian Historical Association.  Additionally, in 2022, this course can be taken as a cross list for degree requirements for History. 

Historian, bestselling author, screenwriter and professor at Trent University Durham GTA, Dr. Robert Wright has a long list of achievements behind his name, including being Trent’s fourth Vanier Professor, beginning his five-year term July 1, 2021. Awarded to a faculty member who has made significant contributions to the study of Canada, the Vanier professorship was established in honour of Governor General Georges Vanier, who officially opened Trent in 1964. Previous recipients include Canadian historian and former master of Trent’s Champlain College, Dr. William L. Morton, Trent’s founding president, Professor Thomas H.B. Symons, and, most recently, historian and author, Dr. Joan Sangster.

Professor Wright has been a member of the history department at Trent University for 35 years, and specializes in North American cultural, political and diplomatic history.

“Professor de Clercy is an excellent addition to Trent’s interdisciplinary environment bringing a dynamic perspective, robust research background, and respected thought leadership on the Canadian political landscape,” said Dr. Leo Groarke, president and vice-chancellor of Trent University. “Through the support of the Jarislowsky Foundation, and in collaboration with our university partners, we look forward to advancing the education of the next generation of political leaders.”

The new Jarislowsky Chair at Trent is part of a national network of scholars set to engage with the next generation of politicians and public sector leaders in ethics, democratic values and responsible governance, within the contexts of Canada’s diverse citizenship, democracy, and commitment to meaningful Truth and Reconciliation. This position, first announced in June, is supported by a $2 million gift from the Jarislowsky Foundation.

Trent students will benefit from the opportunity to learn across the partner universities through a combination of foundational courses and experiential learning opportunities that bring together students from across the country committed to addressing the challenges of 21st century political leadership.