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Authority record
UNBC Arts Council
Corporate body · 1996-

During a conversation in 1996, Eve Pankovitch and David Kerr, employees at UNBC, expressed to each other their concern regarding the absence of art on campus. A few months later they founded the Arts Council of UNBC and set out to respond to the need for art, including musical, visual, literary, performing and conceptual forms, on campus and to foster a relationship with the arts community in Prince George and the region. Since 1996, the Arts Council has initiated and collaborated on many projects including art exhibitions, talks by art professionals, University art acquisitions, poetry readings and musical performances.

Strachan, Bruce
Person · [19-?]-

Bruce Strachan was MLA for Prince George South and Minister of State for the Cariboo Region. He was a member of the Interior University Society and a strong proponent of the creation of a university in the North. In 1989, he became Minister of Advanced Education.

Campagnolo, Iona
2009.6 · Person · 18 October 1932-

Iona Victoria Campagnolo (née Hardy) was born in Vancouver, B.C on October 18, 1932 to Rosamond and Kenneth Hardy. Soon thereafter her family returned to Galiano Island to the family home. In 1940, the Hardy family moved up the coast to the North Pacific Cannery located on the Skeena River near Prince Rupert, where her father worked as Chief of Maintenance. On August 9, 1952 she married (and later divorced) Louis Campagnolo, and together they had two daughters. It was out of a concern for the quality of her daughters’ education that Iona Campagnolo first became involved with municipal politics: first being elected to the Prince Rupert School Board in 1966 where she served for six years as School Trustee, Chairman of the Board, and North Coast Zone Chairman of the Board. Upon completion of her term on the School Board, she ran in the Prince Rupert civic election, won, and served a term as ‘Alderman’ (City Councilor) until 1974. Also during this period (1965-1974) Iona Campagnolo was working for CHTK Radio, Skeena Broadcasters Ltd., as both Advertising Sales Director and Broadcaster: her prowess at the latter position earned her a B.C. Broadcaster of the Year award in 1973.

The early seventies were not only a time of political activism for Iona Campagnolo, they were also a time of continued community activism and development of ethnocultural initiatives within the City of Prince Rupert that had originally begun almost twenty years earlier in 1954. In 1971 Iona Campagnolo was appointed the Royal Visit Co-ordinator for the City of Prince Rupert. As producer, director and costume designer for many performances of the North Pacific Players (a Prince Rupert theatre company) Iona Campagnolo was intrinsically involved in several community theatre performances. To acknowledge and honour her 20 years of dynamic volunteerism within her community, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1973 and was promoted to Officer in 2008.

In 1974 Iona Campagnolo turned her attention to federal politics. Running as a Liberal Party candidate for the riding of Skeena, she won this election and ousted long standing Skeena MP Frank Howard. As Member of Parliament for Skeena, Iona Campagnolo first served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (1974-1976). She was then appointed a Cabinet Member in Pierre Trudeau’s government – a position which subsequently granted her the portfolio of Minister of State for Fitness and Amateur Sport (Sept. 14, 1976 – May 22, 1979). Not only did this new appointment grant her the distinction of becoming the very first Minister of Amateur Sport in Canada, she also became the first woman and Northerner to be appointed a federal Minister.

After electoral defeat in the May 1979 federal election, Iona Campagnolo embarked upon several years of active involvement within the public, private and non-profit realms. Ms. Campagnolo served for two years (1979-1981) as host of a prime time feature interview program on the CBC, from Vancouver, titled “One of a Kind”. During the first three months of 1981, Ms. Campagnolo completed an assignment by the Secretary of State for External Affairs, to organize the founding and incorporation of the “Future’s Secretariat,” with the aim of creating a series of community Task Forces and network linkages at the local level, which would raise the consciousness of Canadians to the interdependent nature of the world and Canada’s role and responsibility to it.
Working as a consultant on Public Relations and Fundraising to CUSO-VSO, (then known only as CUSO or the Canadian University Services Overseas Organization) Iona Campagnolo undertook a large number of speaking engagements particularly in support of refugee re-development, with emphasis on Thai-Kampuchean Border refugees. After spearheading the raising of more than half a million dollars in 1980 towards this particular campaign, she continued to work on various other campaigns on behalf of CUSO. Iona Campagnolo was also a Special Projects Consultant to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Iona Campagnolo also devoted much time to feminist initiatives, becoming involved in the Jerusalem Women’s Seminar and Intercultural Dialogue and assisting in the organization and emergence of women’s networks in several Canadian urban centers such as Edmonton and Vancouver.

Also from 1979-1981 Ms. Campagnolo acted as Special Consultant in several different capacities to Simon Fraser University (SFU). In January of 1981, Ms. Campagnolo was guest lecturer to senior-level students in the Sport Administration Degree program at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ont. where she spoke on the involvement of various levels of government in sport development.
During this inter-political period, Ms. Campagnolo was also a consultant to the Calgary Olympic Development Association, assisting them with their bid for the 1988 Winter Olympics, through personal contact with members of the international sport community, including presenting Calgary’s bid to IOC (International Olympic Committee) members in Africa and Europe.

In 1982 Iona Campagnolo once again heard the call from the political realm and stood for election this time for the position of President of the Liberal Party of Canada. She was elected to this position by a Party Convention on November 7, 1982 as the first woman President of the Liberal Party of Canada, after 50 years of male predecessors. In the September 1984 federal election Iona Campagnolo made one last run at federal politics when she ran in the North Vancouver-Burnaby riding. She was, however, defeated in the Mulroney landslide victory that reduced John Turner’s Liberals down to 40 seats. Also in 1984, she served as National Co-Chair of the Liberal Leadership Convention, and was re-elected to the office of President by acclamation at this June 1984 Convention. Ms. Campagnolo served in this capacity until November 27, 1986.

From 1986 - 1996 Iona Campagnolo worked on contract with Contemporary Communications for the National Speakers Bureau. Writing and delivering speeches across the country to a myriad of organizations. From 1987-1990 Iona Campagnolo, as Associate Director, worked towards the establishment and development of the McMaster University Centre for International Health.
In 1992, Iona Campagnolo became actively involved with the establishment and development of a new university in northern British Columbia – the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) in Prince George. On May 23, 1992 she was appointed the founding Chancellor of the University.

In 1995 Iona Campagnolo became a Director (1995-1996) and then Chair (1996-1997) of the Fraser Basin Management Program (FBMP) which worked towards bringing together all four orders of Canadian government (federal, provincial, municipal and First Nations) to address some of the key river management issues identified by Fraser River Action Plan - a part of Canada’s Green Plan.
On September 21, 2001, Iona Campagnolo was appointed by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson in the name of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, as British Columbia’s first female Lieutenant Governor; a position in which she served until September 30, 2007.

Since 2007, the Honourable Iona Campagnolo has remained actively involved with two key issues: reconciling Aboriginal Rights and Title with Crown Title, and salmon sustainability in collaboration with the faculty of Continuing Studies in Science at Simon Fraser University. She currently makes her home on Vancouver Island.

Sadler, W. Murray
Person · [19-?]-

W. Murray Sadler, a founding partner of the Prince George law firm of Heather Sadler Jenkins, was the founding President of the Interior University Society and later became Chairman of the Interim Governing Council of the University of Northern British Columbia.

Larkin, Peter
Person · 1924-1996

Born in New Zealand, Peter Larkin came to Canada as a child, and was educated at the University of Saskatchewan and at Oxford (where he was a Rhodes Scholar, earning his DPhil at the age of 24). He moved to B.C. as Chief Fisheries biologist for the B.C. Game Commission in 1948, and in 1955 he joined the faculty at UBC. He worked first in the Fisheries Institute, and then in the Department of Zoology; and subsequently he became head of department, then dean of Graduate Studies, and later still, vice-president in charge of research. Author of some 160 scientific papers, he also served over the course of his career on some 50 local, national, and international commissions, ranging from the Science Council of Canada and the National Research Council to TRIUMF and the Vancouver Hospital Board, and from federal studies of the impact of pesticides, and United Nations studies of marine mammals, to the Board of B.C. Packers Ltd., the B.C. Advisory Committee on Ecological Reserves, and the committee that worked on preserving and developing Strathcona Park. After his retirement from UBC, he became actively involved in the Northern River Basins Study, and he maintained his interest in marine research. From 1993 to 1994, he was appointed as a temporary head commissioner for the British Columbia Utilities Commission Review on the Kemano Completion Project.

Evans, Michael John
Person · [19-]-

Dr. Evans completed a BA (1987) in Anthropology at the University of Victoria and an MA (1989) and PhD (1996) in Anthropology from McMaster University. From 1995 to 1998, Evans was an instructor for the Anthrology and First Nations Programs at UNBC. Since then, Dr. Evans has worked at various professorial positions at the University of Alberta and UBC Okanagan. His research interests include rrban Aboriginal issues, Métis history and contemporary issues, and aboriginal communities of Oceania.

Claxton, James Joseph
2007.17 · Person · 22 Aug 1910 - 24 May 1996

James Joseph Claxton was born in Ireland on August 22, 1910 and immigrated to Canada as a teenager. Despite a love for his adopted country, he never forgot his Irish roots. In 1941, he joined the Irish Fusiliers of Canada (Vancouver Regiment) where he was able to serve the British Commonwealth along side his many Irish-Canadian compatriots. The following year, his regiment was deployed for active overseas combat in North Africa, Italy and North Western Europe. At the end of World War II, Claxton returned to British Columbia where he explored this province by settling for a time in Kamloops, Kelowna, Salmon Arm and finally Burnaby. He owned a jewellery store in the New Westminster area for several years in which he showcased his extensive collection of Royal Irish Constabulary badges and ephemera. Claxton was an active leader for the Salmon Arm Boys Scouts of Canada group, and was a member of both the Irish Fusiliers Association and the Toc H (an international charity and membership movement that emerged from a soldiers' club in Belgium during World War I). He also served aboard the M.S. Columbia III (ca. 1960) – one of the last ships then maintained by the Anglican Church’s Columbia Coast Mission. This mission provided religious, medical and social services to remote coastal settlements, logging camps and First Nations communities along the inner coast from 1905 to the late 1960s. James Joseph Claxton passed away at the Royal Columbian Hospital, New Westminster at the age of 86. He was cremated and buried at sea off the northern tip of Vancouver Island at Cape Caution.

Baker, Ron James
Person

Ronald James (a.k.a. R.J. or Ron) Baker received his BA in 1951 and his MA in 1953 both from the University of British Columbia. With his education complete, Ron Baker went on to make significant contributions to the establishment of the community college system in Canada both as an educator and as an administrator from the early 1950s right through to his retirement in 1999. He also contributed greatly to the field of linguistic studies, most notably for the Prince George region, through his 1960-1961 examination of the Carrier language in the Nadleh Whuten (Nautley – Fort Fraser) Reserve on Fraser Lake in Northern B.C. R.J. Baker began his career in education as a lecturer (1951-1955; 1957-58) in the Department of English at the University of British Columbia (UBC); eventually advancing to the positions of Assistant Professor (1958-63) and Associate Professor (1963-65). It was during his UBC tenure in the 1960s that Ron Baker was asked to became one of the chief contributors to John B. Macdonald's report, “Higher Education in British Columbia and a Plan for the Future” (The University of British Columbia: 1962) This report led directly to the government's decision to establish a second university- Simon Fraser University- in the Lower Mainland. On November 14, 1963, the newly established Simon Fraser University (SFU) hired R.J. Baker as its first Director of Academic Planning. After assuming his duties on January 1, 1964 he went on to became the head of SFU's English Department on December 10, 1964: a position he held from 1964-1968. Throughout his SFU tenure, R.J. Baker also served on the provincial Academic Board for Higher Education, established to advise the government on applying the recommendations of the 1962 Macdonald Report. In 1969, Ron Baker left Simon Fraser University to become the first President of the University of Prince Edward Island, a post he held for nine years. On July 4, 1978 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions to higher education. In addition to his work in British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, he was a long-time member of the Board of Directors of the AUCC, served the maximum period allowed on the Canada Council and was the President of the Association of Atlantic Universities. He was also President of the Association of Canadian University Teachers of English and the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education, and served on the executives of the Canadian Linguistic Association and the Canadian Council of Teachers of English. In January 1990, he was asked by the government of British Columbia to write a preliminary report on the establishment of a university in the northern part of the province – a university eventually established as the University of Northern British Columbia. Dr. Baker has since retired and now lives in Surrey, British Columbia. [excerpt from Ron Baker fonds, Appendix: “Autobiographical Sketch” by R.J. Baker, courtesy of Simon Fraser University Archives and Records Management Department.]

Steadman, Tom
Person · [19-?]-

Thomas A. (Tom) Steadman, franchise owner of the Canadian Tire store in Prince George, BC, spearheaded the campaign to raise awareness about a University of the North and for the North, speaking at many community gatherings during the early years of concept development for what would become the University of Northern British Columbia. He was one of founding members of the Interior University Society (IUS) and was founder and chairperson of the IUS membership committee. Mr. Steadman was appointed to the Implementation Planning Group in 1989 and later became a member of the Interim Governing Council of the University of Northern British Columbia. More recently, he helped establish the Northern Medical Programs Trust and Chaired the UNBC Foundation.

CKPG
Corporate body · Nov. 1944-

In November 1944, the Canadian Department of Transport granted a license to operate a radio station to brothers Cecil and Frank (Tiny) Elphicke of CKPG Radio Limited. Land was purchased in May 1945 for the transmitter site near the Hudson Bay Slough in Prince George. Construction of the transmitter began in August, and Radio Station CKPG Limited was incorporated and capitalized at $25,000 (2500 shares at 10.00 per share). CKPG signed on the air on at 5:00 p.m. on 8 February 1946, operating on 1230 kHz. Studios were in Ritz-Kiefer Hall on George Street and the 250-watt transmitter was at South Fort George. CKPG was a CBC Trans-Canada affiliate, with an original staff of Cecil Elphicke (Managing Director), Ray Tate (Engineer) and Jack Carbutt (announcer). Bob Harkins began as a copywriter at the station in 1954. Three years later, at age 26, Harkins was appointed general manager and president of the station. On 20 August 1959, CKPG-TV began broadcasting on Channel 2.

The CKPG-TV station began operations on August 20, 1961, with a power output of 8,300 watts. It was co-owned with the local radio station of the same name, and was a CBC affiliate from its inception. The station's president and general manager, Bob Harkins, was one of the first people to appear on air.

In 1965, the station put a re-broadcaster in Quesnel into operation on channel 13. In April 1969, both the CKPG radio and television stations were purchased by Vancouver's Q Broadcasting Ltd., owners of CHQM in Vancouver.

In 1973, Gord Leighton became the new general manager of both stations and by 1985, the station had six rebroadcasting stations (including three owned by the CBC) in operation in Hixon, Mackenzie, Quesnel, Vanderhoof, Fort Fraser and Ft. St. James.

In 1988, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) renewed the network licence for CKPG-TV and CFTK-TV Terrace, which allowed the two CBC affiliates to use the Corporation's microwave equipment to transfer syndicated programming, when it wasn't being used for CBC programming.

On 11 October 1990, Radio Station CKPG Limited and its CKPG Television subsidiary were sold to Monarch Broadcasting Ltd.
On December 21, the CRTC approved the buyout of Monarch Broadcasting by the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, a division of the Jim Pattison Group, which included CKPG-TV and its retransmission stations.

At noon on 30 May 2003, news-talk format CKPG-AM became classic-rock format CKDV-FM “The Drive”.

Ainley, Marianne
2002.14 · Person · 1937-2008

Marianne (Marika) Ainley (nee Gosztonyi) 1937 - 2008 was born on December 4, 1937 in Budapest, Hungary. She started out her adult life as a chemist after receiving her diploma in industrial chemistry from Petrik Lajos Polytechnical College of Chemistry in Budapest in 1956. She immigrated to Sweden in 1956 to escape the unrest accompanying the failed Hungarian Revolution, and then to Montreal, Quebec in 1957.

In Montreal, she worked as a laboratory technician during which she studied aesthetics, music appreciation and literature at Sir George Williams University (now part of Concordia University) from 1961-1964, earning a bachelor's degree in English and French literature. In 1966, she became a research assistant at Loyola College (now part of Concordia) in the Chemistry department under Dr. Thomas Nogrady. She worked under Dr. Thomas Nogrady from 1966-1969 and 1973-1974, taking a hiatus for the birth of her son during which she developed her interest in birding and pottery. Between 1967 and 1969, she studied pottery under Grace Atkinson and Rai Nakashima at the Potter's Club in Montreal. She exhibited some of her pottery at the Potter's Club in the Montreal Studio Fair. In 1974, she became a laboratory instructor in the Chemistry Department at Loyola College where she worked until 1978.

In 1979, upon the recommendation of a colleague to look into the History of Science Program (Histoire et de sociopolitique des sciences) at the Universite de Montreal, Ainley applied and was accepted. While attending the Universite de Montréal, Ainley was employed as a research assistant in the History of Science Program at Concordia and completed Cornell University's certificate in ornithology. She graduated with a Master of Science in 1980 from the Institut d'histoire et de sociopolitique des sciences of the Universite de Montreal upon the completion of her thesis on the history of American ornithologists, "La professionnalisation de l'ornithologie Americaine, 1870-1979." Ainley continued her research in ornithology while completing her PhD at McGill University, graduating in 1985 upon the completion of her dissertation, "From Natural History to Avian Biology: Canadian Ornithology, 1860-1950."

Shortly after completing her PhD, Ainley received a grant to write a biography of zoologist William Rowan. In the same year, she applied for and received post-doctoral funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), which she spent at McGill studying the history of Canadian women in science. She also co-curated "the Bicentennial of J.J. Audubon" exhibition at McGill University. In 1986, she secured multi-year funding (from 1986-1988) as an independent scholar through the Women and Work Strategic Grants program for "Women and Scientific Work in Canada, I."

In 1988, she became a lecturer at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute at Concordia University and, in the following year, received her second Women and Work strategic grant for "Women and Scientific Work in Canada, II," which funded her research until 1992. In her first semester at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, while developing a course on historical and contemporary perspectives of women, science and technology, she recognized a dearth of material on the subject and solicited a series of essays, which became "Despite the Odds: Essays on Canadian Women and Science." Ainley edited the book, published in 1990, and contributed a chapter and bibliography. In the same year, she became a visiting scholar in the women’s studies at Carleton University as well as a researcher for and curator of the "Canadian Achievements in Science" historical photograph exhibition at Concordia University. Upon returning to the Simone de Beauvoir Institute in 1991, she became the principal and a half-time associate professor of women’s studies. She began work as a co-investigator on another SSHRC funded project, "Critical Turning Points: Women Engineers Within and Outside the Profession," on women in the field of engineering in 1993. In the same year, she received a grant to publish her biography of William Rowan, entitled, "Restless Energy—A Biography of William Rowan, 1891-1957."

In 1995, Ainley accepted a position as a professor and the chair of the Women’s Studies Program at the University of Northern British Columbia, serving as chair until 1998 and as a professor until 2003. In 1999, Ainley became the president of the Canadian Women's Studies Association, of which she was a member since 1988. In 2000 and 2003, Ainley was a visiting professor at the Centre for Social Science Research at the Central Queensland University. In 2001, Ainley was a visiting scholar at Auckland University's Institute for the Study of Gender; she received associate professor emeritus status from the University of Concordia; and received the "Teaching as if the World Mattered" award from the Biology as if the World Mattered Research Group in Canada. In the same year, she received a SSHRC grant for her research project, "Re-explorations: new perspectives on gender, environment and the transfer of knowledge in 19th and 20th century Canada and Australia."

During her time at the University of Northern British Columbia, Ainley began her magnum opus, originally titled, "Overlooked Dimensions: Women and Scientific Work at Canadian Universities, 1884-1980." The book drew on her previous research, including research from her Women and Work SSHRC grants and "Critical Turning Points: Women Engineers Within and Outside the Profession," as well as oral history projects completed by other researchers and institutions. The book provides an overview of the history of women and scientific work at Canadian universities. It was posthumously published as Creating Complicated Lives: Women and Science at English-Canadian Universities, 1880-1980 by the McGill-Queen's University Press in 2012.

She continued her artistic pursuits and birding at the University of Northern British Columbia. She studied watercolour under Jennifer Ferris, Barry Rafuse and June Swanky Parker, drawing under Mary Richer and acrylics under Marlene Roberts between 1997 and 2001. She exhibited works at a variety of venues in Prince George from 1997-2000, including an exhibition at the Prince George Art Gallery in 1999, and exhibitions at the British Columbia Festival of Arts from 1998-2000. She was part of the Artists' Workshop in Prince George from 1997-2004. She served on the University of Northern British Columbia Arts Council between 1998-2004, curating two exhibitions on Canadian achievements in science in 1996 and 1997. She was voted elective member of the American Ornithologists' Union 1996, having joined in 1972 and having been a centennial committee member from 1982-1983.

In 2004, Ainley moved to Victoria where she became an adjunct professor of Women's Studies at the University of Victoria. In 2005, she received professor emeritus status from the University of Northern British Columbia and joined Studio Madrona, an artist group, with whom she exhibited work in Goward House in Victoria in 2005.

On September 26, 2008, Ainley passed away after a battle with cancer.

Fawcett, Brian
Person · 1944-

Brian Fawcett was born in Prince George on May 13, 1944. He completed elementary and secondary school in Prince George before leaving at the age of 22 to attend Simon Fraser University. After graduating with a B.A. (Honours) in 1969 from SFU, Fawcett went on to complete coursework for a M.A. in English Literature at SFU in 1972. After graduation, he worked as a Community Organizer and Urban Planner for the Greater Vancouver Regional District until 1988. Mr. Fawcett is a former Editor of "Books in Canada" and a former Columnist for the "Globe Mail" newspaper. He has also written articles and reviews for many of Canada's major magazines. In addition, Fawcett has worked as a teacher of English and Creative Writing in federal maximum security penitentiaries. Brian Fawcett has written more than a dozen books including "Cambodia" (1986), "The Secret Journal of Alexander Mackenzie" (1985), "Capital Tales" (1984), "Gender Wars" (1994), "Disbeliever's Dictionary" (1997), "Virtual Clearcut" (2003), "Local Matters" (2003), "Human Happiness" (2011), and "The Last of the Lumbermen" (2013). He moved to Toronto in 1990, where he continues to live and write.

Weller, Geoffrey R.
Person · 1942-2000

Originally from the U.K., Geoffrey R. Weller was born in 1942. He graduated high school in England in 1960 and then spent an additional year at Ann Arbor High School in Michigan, graduating a second time in 1961. Weller pursued a BSc in Economics at the University of Hull, graduating in 1964, and a master degree in Political Science at McMaster University, completing a thesis titled “Some Contemporary American Views of Democracy and the Third World: A Critical Appraisal” in 1967. He went on to hold teaching positions at Bishop’s University (1965-1971) and Lakehead University (1971-1990). At Lakehead University, Weller also became the Dean of Arts (1984-1985) and Vice-President (Academic) (1985-1990). Over the course of his career, Weller obtained visiting professor positions at: the University of Minnesota, Duluth (1973), the University of Ottawa (1977-1978), and Simon Fraser University (1995) and taught a summer course at Laurentian University (1979). Over his teaching career, Weller taught courses in Canadian politics, public policy, and comparative politics. In 1991, Weller became the founding president of the University of Northern British Columbia and held this position until 1995 when he stepped down and began teaching in the department of International Studies.

Weller’s early research pertained to Canadian labor relations, working first as a researcher for the Federal Task Force on Labor Relations in 1967 and subsequently pursuing an academic research project titled "Trade Unions and Political Change in the Province of Quebec 1921-1972.” In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Weller’s research turned to health policy in Canada and worldwide. From 1975 to 1980, Weller worked on his doctoral dissertation at McGill University titled “The Development of Health Policy in Ontario.” Though he ultimately never finished this degree, Weller published several papers on similar topics during this time, including: “From ‘Pressure Group Politics’ to ‘Medical Industrial Complex’: The Development of Approaches to the Politics of Health” (1980), “The Determinants of Canadian Health Policy” (1980), “The Conflict of Values and Goals in the Canadian Health Care System” (1978), and "Hygeia Versus Asclepius: Conflict within the Ontario Health Care System" (1979). Other projects on health policy in the 1980s included Weller’s research on the Canada Health Act of 1984 and collaboration with his colleague Pranlal Manga on a project looking at politics and health care in South Africa in 1983. Weller continued to conduct research on health policy into the 1990s.

Overlapping with his work on health policy, Weller explored politics and development in the Circumpolar North. From the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, he engaged in several projects examining local government in the North and provincial ministries of northern affairs. Specific publications included: "Local Government in the Canadian Provincial North" (1980), "The Evolution of Local Government in Northern Ontario" (1980), "Provincial Ministries of Northern Affairs: A Comparative Analysis" (1982), and “Local Government Development in the Yukon and Northwest Territories” (1983). Later in the 1980s, Weller conducted research on politics in Ontario, publishing a 1988 paper titled “The North in the Ontario Election of 1987.” This interest in government and development in the circumpolar north reemerges in Weller’s work in the 1990s with an emphasis on economic development, seen in the publications “Regional and Economic Development in the Circumpolar North: early 90s to 2000” (2000) and “Economic Development Initiatives in the Circumpolar North: A Comparative Analysis” (1999).

Weller’s research interests in health policy and northern studies also overlap in many projects. Specifically, from 1983 to 1991, Weller’s research on health policy turned to examine health care in the circumpolar north. During this period, Weller held government appointments and community service positions on the Advisory Committee for the Health Promotion and Prevention Project of the Ontario Council of Health (1983-1984), the study advisory group for the Study on Health and Social Service Professionals in Northern Ontario (1989-1990), and the Thunder Bay District Health Council (1983-1988), on which he was also chairman (1986-1988). Research conducted in these roles dovetailed with academic research projects, including "The Politics of Health in the Circumpolar North” (1987) "The Delivery of Health Care to Underserviced Areas” (1991) and "Health Care Delivery in Northern Hinterlands” (1989). During this period, some of Weller’s research also examined the transfer of health care responsibility to Canada’s northern territories and local government among First Nations groups, specifically in his papers “Self-Government for Canada's Inuit: The Nunavut Proposal” (1988), “Devolution, Regionalism and Division of the Northwest Territories” (1990), "The Devolution of Authority for Health Care Services to the Government of the Northwest Territories” (1989), and “Health Care Devolution to Canada’s Territorial North” (1990).

Weller’s research in the field of northern studies also combined with research on environmental politics, higher education, and international relations. During 1981-1988, Weller collaborated with Douglas Nord on projects pertaining to environmental issues and politics in the Great Lakes region, including two research reports funded through the state of Minnesota and the Canadian Consulate-General in Minneapolis titled “Transborder Politics and Paradiplomacy: The Ontario- Minnesota Fishing Dispute” (1987) and “Canada and the United States: An Introduction to a Complex Relationship” (1987). Weller also pursued academic research in this area including a project titled “Water Politics and Policy in the Lake Superior Basin” (1988) and another collaboration with Douglas Nord "Environmental Policy and Political Support in Canada and the United States: A Comparative Analysis” (1981).
Also holding research interests in higher education, from the late 1983 to 1998 Weller explore aspects of circumpolar universities and their effect on the surrounding regions, resulting in publications such as “Universities, Politics and Development: The Case of Northern Ontario” (1988) and “Universities, Politics and Development: Northern Ontario and Northern Sweden” (1985). Weller’s interest in northern studies combined with international studies in research concentrating on foreign policy and security in the north. Publications in this area include “The Circumpolar North and Canadian Foreign Policy” (1989) and “The Arctic as an International Community” (1992). Weller also produced publications in the late 1980s through the 1990s dealing with security and intelligence in Canada and internationally.

In 1999, Weller was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Lapland based on his work on the circumpolar north encompassing Scandinavian countries and his research collaborations with Scandinavian scholars. Geoffrey Weller passed away in 2000. His legacy includes the establishment of the Lakehead University Centre for Northern Studies, the Northern Ontario Medical Program, and the Association of Circumpolar Universities.