First Visiting Trudeau Fellowship Awarded to Dr. Clare Bradford
Mon. Sep. 14, 2009
Dr. Clare Bradford has been awarded the first $225, 000 Trudeau Visiting Fellowship Prize from the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. A professor in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia, Dr. Bradford will be a Visiting Professor of literary studies at The University of Winnipeg in the 2009-2010 academic year, and the Centre for Research in Young People’s Texts and Cultures will be hosting her. Her innovative research examines the interplay between children’s literature and social practices, and particularly representations of Indigenous peoples and cultures in children’s books.
“Dr. Bradford has been made a Trudeau Fellow because she creatively focuses on contemporary issues of importance to all Canadians and is truly engaged in reshaping our society,” announced Trudeau Foundation President, Dr. Pierre-Gerlier Forest.
“The University of Winnipeg has strong links with the Aboriginal community, and strengthening Aboriginal scholarship on campus in all disciplines is critically important,” said Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President & Vice-Chancellor, The University of Winnipeg. “Dr. Bradford’s expertise will be a welcome addition to our students and faculty.”
From March to December 2010, Dr. Bradford will be teaching and supervising graduate students, collaborating and networking with scholars in the Centre for Research in Young People’s Texts and Cultures at the University of Winnipeg, and in the rest of Canada, chairing symposia and conferences and hosting a meeting of the Board of the International Research Society in Children’s Literature.
“The Trudeau Fellowship is an unexpected and wonderful surprise to me, especially as I am the first International Fellow,” said Dr. Bradford. “It will enable me to identify and pursue new and innovative areas of research, to learn from my Canadian colleagues at the University of Winnipeg and beyond, and to encourage collaboration among scholars in the field of children’s literature and allied disciplines.”
“We will greatly benefit from Dr. Bradford’s presence and involvement on campus,” said Dr. Sandra Kirby, Associate Vice-President (Research) and Dean of Graduate Studies. “Her research in children’s texts complements that of our own faculty, and her arrival here is timely, as we are starting a new program, a Master of Arts in English with a Focus in Cultural Studies, that draws on her area of research.”
The prestigious $225, 000 Trudeau Fellowships are awarded for a three-year period and include an award and a travel, research and dissemination allowance. Trudeau Fellowships are awarded annually through a rigorous nomination process to highly accomplished Canadians who question society’s worldviews and teach the importance of responsible and engaged citizenship. The Visiting Trudeau Fellowship allows Canadian universities and research institutions to invite an outstanding international or national expert to participate in their activities for a few semesters.
Dr. Bradford is the first ever International Trudeau Fellow and joins four Canadian Trudeau fellows named this year, and Dr. Bradford is the first Trudeau Fellow hosted by the University of Winnipeg.