Honorary Degree Books 2011
Charlie Kakotok Evalik
Charlie Kakotok Evalik champions a transformative vision for Canada's North. A central contributor to the settlement of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and the creation of the new territory of Nunavut, he is president of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association and chair and CEO of the Nunavut Resources Corporation. Evalik is a strong advocate for leadership roles for Inuit as decision-makers in development that respects both the land and its people.
Blodgett, Jean. Kenojuak: Graphic Masterworks of the Inuit. Toronto: Mintmark Press, 1981.
Kenojuak: Graphic Masterworks of the Inuit
Kenojuak Ashevak (1927–) is widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary Inuit artists for her prodigious contributions to Inuit culture. She was born at Ikerrasak camp near Cape Dorset on Baffin Island, Nunavut, and at an early age she answered her life’s calling and began working as an artist. Her drawings on paper have a unique graphic quality that is highly sought after by cultural institutions and collectors, but she is also renowned for her numerous carvings, etchings, stone sculptures, prints, and designs for Canadian stamps and coins. This sumptuous limited edition brings together Jean Blodgett’s introduction to Kenojuak’s career and 174 coloured prints of her finest works; it also includes a hand-coloured signed etching of an owl and woman entitled “Myself and I.” [NE 543 K45 A4 1981 folio]
Bunny Ferguson
Bunny Ferguson has transformed public conversation around family business and social innovation. Founding chair of the Alberta Business Family Institute, founding director of the Centre for Social Entrepreneurs, and director of the Norlien Foundation, she is a tireless advocate for community-university engagement, health-care excellence, and educational leadership. Ferguson is a member of the Order of Canada.
Edmonton: The Capital City of Alberta. Wilson Stationery, [1913].
Edmonton: The Capital City of Alberta
This splendid album has 35 black-and-white captioned photographs of Edmonton in the early days of the twentieth century. Through the lens of a camera we journey into Edmonton’s past and revisit many familiar landmarks and locations, which include the High Level Bridge, University of Alberta’s Athabasca Hall and Arts Building, Royal Alexandra Hospital, several scenes along Jasper Avenue, and the beautiful Saskatchewan River. Additional photographs illustrate important architectural landmarks that defined Edmonton as a prosperous and growing city but have since been demolished, including the Court House, General Hospital, and the Tegler Block. These early photographs are a wonderful pictorial record of Edmonton’s early evolution as the capital of the Province of Alberta. [FC 3696.37 E22 1913]
Rick Hansen
Rick Hansen is best known in Canada and around the world as the Man In Motion. For two years, two months, and two days, Hansen wheeled more than 40,000 kilometres through 34 countries, raising $26 million, which was further leveraged to $246 million and granted for spinal-cord injury research and accessibility initiatives. A Companion of the Order of Canada, Hansen continues his quest for a healthy and inclusive world through the Rick Hansen Foundation.
Nicholson, William. An Almanac of Twelve Sports.
London: William Heinemann, 1898.
An Almanac of Twelve Sports
Published in 1898, this book is as notable for its striking illustrations – which celebrate a wide range of sports from archery to boxing to golf – as it is for the verses written by Rudyard Kipling to accompany the illustrations. These popular illustrations have been republished in various formats and are often available for sale individually. The artist, Sir William Nicholson (1872-1949), was a talented printmaker and a successful artist, one whose paintings continue to be shown in retrospective exhibitions, including one at the Royal Academy in 2004-2005. This book was published at a time when lithography had recently made colour printing much easier, but the original illustrations made by the artist were woodblock prints, a fact that is underscored by the strongly graphic style of the images. [NE 1300.8 G7 N629 1898 folio]
Louise Hayes
Louise Hayes is an influential agent of change committed to a brighter future for Canada's Aboriginal peoples. She contributed to the creation of the first housing support programs in rural and remote communities and assisted in the development of the Native Council of Canada. A community builder, Hayes currently chairs the Edmonton Public Schools Foundation.
Johnson, E. Pauline. The White Wampum.
London: John Lane, 1895.
The White Wampum
This lovely book of poems by celebrated Mohawk author Pauline Johnson (1861–1913) is the first book published by an Aboriginal woman in Canada. Johnson's father was a chief on the Six Nations Reservation near Brantford, Ontario, and her mother was a British immigrant. Johnson grew up with a love for traditional First Nations stories and for British literary classics. In the preface to this volume, Johnson explains that wampums are as meaningful to her people as songs are to the poet, that both are “fraught alike with the corresponding message of peace, the breathing of tradition, the value of more than coin, and the seal of fellowship.” This first edition copy features a handsome brown cloth binding with a tomahawk design, deckle edges, and gold lettering on the spine. [PS 8469 O38 W58 1895]
Craig Kielburger
Craig Kielburger, founder of the international children's charity Free the Children and co-founder of Me to We, a social enterprise designed to support the work of Free the Children, is a leading Canadian children's rights activist who empowers young people in the developed world to make a difference. He is one of the youngest recipients of the Order of Canada.
Clark, Cumberland. Charles Dickens and the Yorkshire Schools. London: Chiswick, 1918.
Charles Dickens and the Yorkshire Schools
Charles Dickens frequently included child characters in his fiction and because he was all too familiar with the horrors of child labour, he had hoped that his writing would help to improve the lives of children. This important book includes Dickens’s letter in facsimile that tells of his trip to Yorkshire, where he bears witness to dreadful conditions for the students. The letter to Mrs S.C. Hall discusses the “rascalities of those Yorkshire Schoolmasters [which] cannot easily be exaggerated.” This copy features the bookplates of renowned Dickensian collectors George Barr McCutcheon and William Glyde Wilkins and is housed in a custom chemise and red quarter morocco slipcase. It also includes Dickens’s separately published address delivered at the Birmingham and Midland Institute in 1869, which records his praise of the Institution’s “remarkable schemes” for delivering excellent education to the working classes. [PR 4592 E4 C52 1918]
The Honourable Michael J.L. Kirby
Educated at Dalhousie and Northwestern University, Michael Kirby was teaching mathematics at Dalhousie when he became assistant to Premier Gerald Regan of Nova Scotia in 1970. He moved into federal service in 1973, filling several influential roles before becoming the deputy clerk of the Privy Council in 1980. In this role, Kirby was involved in the negotiations that led to the patriation of the Canadian Constitution and the adoption of the Charter of Rights. As chair of the Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science, and Technology while serving on the Canadian Senate, he co-wrote the first-ever national report on mental health, mental illness, and addiction. Kirby was named an officer of the Order of Canada for his leadership on mental health and his contributions to public policy and good governance.
Lowdermilk, Susan. Eadem Mutate Resurgo: Though Transformed I Will Arise Unchanged. Eugene, OR: Susan Lowdermilk, c2010.
Eadem Mutate Resurgo
This limited edition artist’s book offers a striking visual expression of a mathematical principle. The artist tells us that the “title is a quote by 17th century Swiss mathematician Jakob Bernoulli. The images, diagrams and equations reference the inherent nature of fractal geometry through the continual appearance of the logarithmic spiral.” Susan Lodermilk is a printmaker and a book artist with a strong interest in visual metaphors. For this tunnel book she employs several printing methods (lithography, collagraph, and woodcut) on Stonehenge and Somerset papers. This book is signed by the artist and marked as number ten of twelve copies. [N 7433.4 L87 A6 E153 2010 folio]
John Chin Sung Lau
John Chin Sung Lau led one of the most impressive turnarounds in Canadian business history. Under his leadership, Husky Energy Inc. became one of Canada's leading integrated oil and natural gas companies. In 2009, Lau was ranked 30 on a list of the world's top CEOs published by the Harvard Business Review.
Tate, Norman. Du pétrole et de ses dérivés.
Paris: Norman Tate, 1864.
Du pétrole et de ses dérivés
This important book is one of the earliest works on the history of oil and its commercial value. It was written by chemist Norman Tate (1837–1892), a highly regarded teacher and pioneer of scientific education who also served as honorary secretary for the Association of Chemists in Liverpool, and it contains valuable historical information on methods of oil refinery, oil sources and recovery, and the manufacture of derivatives. This copy is beautifully bound in half blue morocco with marbled boards and the title is lettered in gold on the spine. It also features a splendid folding frontispiece with an illustration of the first oil field in the United States at Venango, Pennsylvania. Only a few libraries around the world own a copy of this scarce book. [TN 870 T36 1864]
Dr Karen Luker
Karen Luker is a nursing scholar whose pioneering research on cancer survivorship has led to the design of new services to support people affected by cancer. She also initiated groundbreaking work developing training programs for lay health workers in South Africa. As Dean of the School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Social Work at the University of Manchester, Luker is recognized around the world as a pioneer in advancing academic nursing.
Seacole, Mary. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands. London: J. Blackwood, 1857.
Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands
This fascinating autobiography of Mary Seacole (1805–1881) documents her life as a Jamaican nurse in the Crimean War (1853–1856). When she applied to the British War Office and asked to be sent to the Crimea, she was rejected because of her colour, but Seacole decided to go anyway and raised the travel funds herself. She worked tirelessly to treat British soldiers in the Crimean port city of Balaclava, where she pioneered effective nursing practices that earned her significant respect among the troops. Seacole’s remarkable achievements were finally honored in her lifetime when she was awarded the Crimean Medal and the French Legion of Honour, and her life story continues to be celebrated and acknowledged with posthumous awards, plaques, and memorial services. This scarce first edition copy features a splendid pullout frontispiece of Seacole’s famous hotel where she cared for the sick and injured. [DK 215 S43 1857]
Dr Austin Mardon
Austin Mardon is an inspiring advocate for the mentally ill. A scholar and Antarctic explorer diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1992, he has worked tirelessly to eliminate the stigma associated with psychiatric disorders. Mardon is a member of the Order of Canada and a recipient of the CM Hincks Award, the highest award given by the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Morelle, Nicole. Dernier iceberg. N. Morelle, 1991.
Dernier iceberg
By their very nature, artists’ books challenge our notions of what a book should look like. Dernier iceberg looks like a book from the outside—except that the covers and spine are painted white to block out any text or imagery—but when the book is opened we see that the text block has been altered to produce a multi-leveled iceberg with dozens of penguins crowded together along the various platforms. From the outside, the book evokes a snow-covered iceberg, and it comes to life when we see the penguin colony inside. It is certainly a charming scene that calls to mind the manifold beauties of Antarctica. This ice-themed one-of-a-kind book invites viewers to experience the metaphoric possibilities of books as artistic structures. [N 7433.4 M67 A6 D47 1991]
Dr Arthur B. McDonald
A native of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Arthur McDonald moved to Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario in 1989 as Professor of Physics and Director of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), the international underground facility addressing fundamental questions in particle physics and astrophysics. He was Director of the SNO Institute from 1991 to 2003 and from 2006 to 2009 and has been Associate Director of the SNOLAB (previously SNO) Institute since 2009. McDonald is an Officer of the Order of Canada and Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Royal Society of the UK and Commonwealth, and the Royal Society of Canada.
Bonnycastle, John. An Introduction to Astronomy.
London: B. Bensley, 1822.
An Introduction to Astronomy
Printed for J. Johnson, this third edition of John Bonnycastle’s (1750–1821) influential book includes chapters on the solar system and the firmament of the fixed stars; the systems of Ptolemy, Tycho Brahe, and Copernicus; the discoveries of Kepler and Galileo; magnitudes of the sun, moon, and planets; and eclipses of the sun and moon. It has an allegorical engraved frontispiece and 19 folding engraved plates, with images of the solar system, the telescopic appearance of the moon, a planetarium, and numerous celestial diagrams. This copy has a handsome blue goatskin binding, blind tooled covers, gilt lettering and decoration on the spine, and marbled endpapers. [QB 45 B718 1796]
Palagummi Sainath
Palagummi Sainath is a writer and journalist whose stories and photographs have brought the world's attention to issues of poverty and injustice. Rural affairs editor of The Hindu since 2004, he has trained journalists in the poorest regions of India's countryside. Sainath is the recipient of more than 35 national and international awards, including the 2007 Ramon Magsaysay prize.
Album of Original Photographs of India. 1900.
Photographs of India
This splendid album of original black and white and sepia-tone images of India contains 47 vintage photographs. Together they reveal a richly evocative portrait of India around the turn of the century: views of architectural landmarks, villages, and numerous agrarian scenes. Historians, photography enthusiasts, and anyone interested in India will find this album a fascinating visual experience. The photographer(s) were clearly interested in capturing a rural way of life that has remained unchanged for centuries, for here are images of people walking with livestock, women carrying large jugs on their heads, farmers plowing a field with oxen, and poor farmhands sitting down to cook a meal. [DS 413 A53 1900]
Joe Schlesinger
Joe Schlesinger, a veteran foreign correspondent and one of Canada's finest television journalists, is a compassionate and articulate chronicler of the human condition. Respected for work that elevated pure journalism to an art form, he is the recipient of many awards including three Gemini Awards, 18 Gemini nominations, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Journalism Foundation. He is a member of the Order of Canada.
Twain, Mark. Mark Twain's Sketches, New and Old.
Chicago: American Publishing Co., 1875.
Mark Twain's Sketches, New and Old
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910), better known by his literary name Mark Twain, is highly regarded as a major American novelist, but he is also remembered for his skills as a journalist. At the tender age of 12 he began working as a printer’s apprentice at the Missouri Courier, and he later worked as an editorial assistant at the Hannibal Western Union when his brother Orion acquired the newspaper. While his career in journalism was sporadic, he made a name for himself with his talent for political satire. After spending years working for various newspapers, Clemens reinvented himself and became Twain the man of letters. The dozens of sketches in Sketches, New and Old are wonderfully entertaining and include pieces about the profession of journalism, the workings of government, science, travel, and a petition concerning copyright, among other fascinating topics. This copy is elegantly bound in full blue morocco with gilt decorations and titling on the spine. [PS 1319 A1 1875]
Ron Triffo
Ron Triffo was instrumental in transforming Stantec Inc. from a private regional civil engineering firm to one of North America's largest public multi-disciplined engineering and architectural design firms. He is chair of Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures and a past chair of the Alberta Economic Development Authority and ATB Financial. He is founding director of the Consulting Engineers of Alberta and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.
Imison, John. The School of Arts, or, An Introduction to Useful Knowledge: Being a Compilation of Real Experiments and Improvements, in Several Pleasing Branches of Science.
London: Printed for J. Murray and S. Highley, 1796.
An Introduction to Useful Knowledge
John Imison, a pioneer machinist and engineer, writes in his preface that manifold subjects are the focus of his book: “The particular branches of science which I have endeavoured to explain, are those of Mechanical Powers, Electricity, Pneumatics, Hydrostatics and Hydraulics, Optics, and Astronomy; a treatise on Clock-making, the nature, use, and construction of the Barometer, and the construction of optical and many philosophical instruments.” Imison went to great lengths to test and prove his experiments, and he advises his readers that he will educate them in theory and practice in the plainest language possible: “I have endeavoured to be plain, exact, and intelligible, and my meaning will not be misunderstood by those who pay competent attention to my book”. This copy is bound in full sheep and has 24 engraved illustrations, including a folding engraved frontispiece of mechanical machinery. [Q 159 I4 1796]
Lawrence Chia-Huang Wang
Lawrence Chia-Huang Wang co-founded the University of Alberta’s ECO—Ecological Conservancy Outreach—Fund, in 2000, to help with rehabilitation and eco-management of the Upper Yangtze River in China. An elected fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a recipient of the Friendship Award, the highest honour the government of China bestows upon foreign experts, Wang has made lasting contributions to the pursuit of knowledge and the alleviation of poverty.
Porter, Eliot. All Under Heaven: The Chinese World. Deluxe ed. New York: Pantheon Books, 1983.
All Under Heaven
This beautiful photographic celebration of modern China and the Chinese people contains over 125 brilliantly-hued colour plates by Eliot Porter (1901-1990). Porter was one of the first fine art photographers to successfully shift from black and white to colour photography, and he did so in order to better represent the natural world. Throughout his career, Porter’s work was informed by environmentalist principles and these led him to create book-length photographic studies of landscapes with particular ecological significance. As a mature artist, Porter occasionally explored cultural subjects, including classical Greek sites and modern China. This volume makes a wonderful addition to the growing collection of Chinese materials in Bruce Peel Special Collections. It is housed in an original clamshell box, signed by the artist and marked as number 144 of 250 copies. [DS 712 P67 1983b folio]
Dr Efim Zelmanov
Efim Zelmanov is one of only 48 individuals honoured with a Fields Medal considered to be the Nobel Prize of mathematics. A professor of mathematics at the University of California, San Diego, he is considered one of the greatest algebraists of the twentieth century. A member of the US National Academy of Sciences and editor of several major mathematical journals, Zelmanov is an inspiring researcher, teacher, and mentor.
Chen, Julie. A Guide to Higher Learning. [Berkeley, CA]: Flying Fish Press, 2009.
A Guide to Higher Learning
This beautifully produced artists' book pays homage to mathematics for its organic qualities and the ways that numbers form “surprising and unexplained patterns.” In order to read the book, the reader must lift the assembly from the box, roll the overlapping squares outward from their central positions, and continue unfolding the square pages clockwise through to page 12. The mathematical equations printed on the various pages are from four branches of mathematics: abstract algebra, analysis, geometry, and number theory. The pithy text that accompanies each of the equations reminds the reader not only that mathematics is in a constant state of evolution and problem solving, but also that mathematical ideas frequently originate in aesthetic pursuits. Only 100 copies of A Guide to Higher Learning were made; this copy is 43. [N 7433.4 C494 A6 G85 2009]