May 6, 2008

Law professor receives Trudeau Fellowship prize

Kathleen Mahoney, professor in the Faculty of Law, is the first individual from the University of Calgary to be named a Fellow. She is among the five recipients of the 2008 Trudeau Foundation Fellowships; a prestigious award granted for a three-year period and includes $150,000, in addition to a $75,000 travel and research allowance.

"I am deeply honored to receive this award," says Mahoney.  "The values of Pierre Trudeau had a major influence on my life, so to be named a Trudeau Fellow is immensly meaningful to me. I hope to use the fellowship to further my understanding of reconciliation as an element of restorative justice. I would also like to use the fellowship to advance my skills and knowledge in the field of judicial education."

Mahoney is a leader in human rights renowned for her work on the historic settlement agreement between the Government of Canada and Aboriginal residential school survivors. She has been a professor of law at the University of Calgary since 1991 and dedicates much of her research, practice, and activism to internationally critical issues in human rights.

Every year, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation selects five Fellows who have set themselves apart through their research achievements, creativity and social commitment. Trudeau Fellows are chosen above all because they have proven that they can imagine and promote new solutions to major contemporary issues, relying on both the knowledge they have drawn from leading-edge research and the conscientious attention they pay to the needs of our society.

Mahoney has organized and participated in collaborative human rights and judicial education projects in Geneva, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Tanzania, Namibia, Spain, Israel, China, Vietnam, the United States and the United Nations.

She was a founder of the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund and a pioneer of the judicial education movement in Canada. She was recently named an expert advisor to the Interaction Council, an organization of former heads of state seeking to advance the cause of human rights in the world. In 2006, she was named to be the Canadian director of a five-year project on judicial education in Vietnam.

In 2004, Professor Mahoney spearheaded and authored a major research project and Report examining the Canadian government’s response to the claims of Aboriginal residential school survivors. This led to her appointment as the Chief Negotiator for the Assembly of First Nations and the subsequent historic settlement agreement with Canada for reparations and a Truth and Reconciliation Process, which is unique in the world.

The 2008 Trudeau Fellows are:

François Crépeau, University of Montreal: A pioneer in international migration law, he champions foreigners’ rights in Canada and abroad, including Palestine and Guantanamo Bay.

Kathleen Mahoney, University of Calgary: A leader in human rights renowned for her work on the historic settlement agreement between the Government of Canada and Aboriginal residential school survivors.

John B. Robinson, University of British Columbia: An expert in climate change mitigation, and highly respected for his capacity to build bridges between academia, industry and NGOs. He authored parts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that shared the 2007 Peace Nobel Prize with Al Gore.

Rosemary Sullivan, University of Toronto: An award-winning writer, biographer, journalist, activist, and expert on creative non-fiction and biographical studies.

Guy Vanderhaeghe, University of Saskatchewan: A cornerstone of the Canadian historic novel and a strong advocate for the status of the arts in Canada.