A University of Northern British Columbia professor and an associate professor were elected to the Royal Canadian Geographical Society College of Fellows.
The event was recently held in Ottawa and was attended by the Governor General of Canada, David Johnston, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Recipients of the honour are anthropology professor Jim McDonald, who works with indigenous people in northern polar regions, and associate professor of outdoor recreation and tourism management, Pat Maher, who is part of the cross-institution Antarctic University Expedition program and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies (North America) for the University of the Arctic.
"It is a privilege to be elected to the College of Fellows and to be amongst such distinguished Canadians as Robert Bateman and Sheila Watt-Cloutier," said McDonald, who is also a founding member of UNBC's faculty, and chair of the council of the University of the Arctic, which the university will host next year.
UNBC geography professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair Greg Halseth, was also elected as a Fellow of the Society in 1996.
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society is one of Canada's largest non-profit educational organizations and is dedicated to imparting a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada, its people, and places, it said in a recent press release.
The Society's College of Fellows is made up of individuals who are the voting body of the society and are elected at the annual general meeting.
