Four Western professors and a King’s University College professor have been named among the 48 new members of The College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. Those named to the College, part of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), represent the emerging generation of scholarly, scientific and artistic leadership in Canada.
Together, the members of the College will address issues of particular concern to new scholars, artists and scientists, for the advancement of understanding and the benefit of society, taking advantage of the interdisciplinary approaches fostered by the establishment of the College.
“The College is Canada’s first national system of multidisciplinary recognition for the emerging generation of leaders,” said Graham Bell, RSC President. “Together, the members of the College will be in a position to provide guidance on issues of importance to Canadians, and to promote Canadian achievements in the arts, humanities and sciences around the world.”
Members will be inducted during ceremonies on Nov. 27 in Victoria, B.C. They will be joined by fellow Western colleagues Kathryn Brush (Visual Arts), John Leonard (English and Writing Studies) and Jesse Zhu (Chemical and Biochemical Engineering), who were named Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada earlier this month.
Bipasha Baruah
Women’s Studies and Feminist Research
Bipasha Baruah is the Canada Research Chair in Global Women’s Issues, and a professor of Women’s Studies and Feminist Research. Baruah conducts innovative interdisciplinary research on gender, development and globalization; women and work; and social, political and economic inequality. Her research on women and property ownership and women’s employment in renewable energy and resource efficiency has influenced policy within governments, financial institutions and non-governmental organizations.
Antonio Calcagno
Philosophy and Religious Studies, King’s University College
Antonio Calcagno explores the relation between consciousness and social and political objectivities. He focuses on how the mind conditions bonds in groups, communities and states. He is an internationally recognized specialist in the philosophy of Edith Stein and early phenomenology. A scholar and translator, he helps disseminate the continental tradition of philosophy to English-speaking audiences.
Joanna Quinn
Political Science
Joanna Quinn is a political scientist who studies transitional justice and post-conflict reconstruction focusing specifically on the politics of acknowledgement. She has studied how countries deal with large-scale human rights abuse, and her work is helping to shape policy by encouraging countries to use culturally appropriate mechanisms to facilitate post-conflict reconciliation on the national and international stages.
Chantelle Richmond
Geography
Chantelle Richmond, Anishinabe of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg (Pic River First Nation), is a professor in the Department of Geography. Her research is based on a participatory model that explores the intersection of Indigenous people’s health, knowledge systems and connection to land. With a greater goal of improving Indigenous health equity, Richmond engages in community based methodologies that empower Indigenous voice and vision in health and social research.
Nadine Wathen
Information and Media Studies
Nadine Wathen is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research examines the health sector response to violence against women and children, interventions to reduce health inequities and the science of knowledge translation – with a key focus on enhancing the use of research in policy and practice. To better prepare emerging professionals and scholars in the practice and science of knowledge translation, she founded Western’s Joint Graduate Program in Health Information Science.
