Renowned U of S English Literature Scholar to Receive Distinguished Researcher Award

Posted May 18, 2005


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 18, 2005 2005-05-17-OTHER

Renowned U of S English Literature Scholar to Receive Distinguished
Researcher Award

A University of Saskatchewan professor who won the country's top literary
non-fiction award will receive the university's Distinguished Researcher
Award at the Spring Convocation ceremony on May 25th at 2:00 p.m. at the
Centennial Auditorium in Saskatoon.

Professor Robert Calder, considered the world's leading authority on British
author Somerset Maugham, earned the Governor-General's Literary Award for
Non-Fiction for his 1989 book, Willie: The Life of Somerset Maugham, widely
recognized as the definitive Maugham biography.

"Professor Calder's books on Maugham have received international critical
acclaim and his other books and scholarly articles are influential, widely
read, and broad in scope," said Steven Franklin, U of S Vice-President
Research. "Moreover, his work and teaching have enhanced the classroom
experience for thousands of students in his 40 years of teaching at the U of
S."

Calder knows personally the difference a devoted and committed teacher can
make. In an interesting twist, a high school teacher who was an important
influence on Calder is also receiving an award at this year's convocation.
Frank Roy, who taught Calder english at City Park Collegiate, will receive
an honorary degree at the May 26th convocation ceremony.

The Distinguished Researcher Award, which carries a $1,000 prize, recognizes
faculty members for significant contributions to knowledge or artistic
creativity in their areas of expertise.

Calder is the author of six books, as well as numerous book chapters and
articles. In 2004, he published two major works, each in a different genre.
Beware the British Serpent, a meticulously researched and pioneering work on
the role of British writers in World War II propaganda, won two 2004
Saskatchewan Book Awards. A Richer Dust: Family, Memory and the Second World
War, a moving family memoir that examines Canadian's experience with
shell-shock, was short-listed in both the 2004 non-fiction and "Book of the
Year" categories.

"His career as a humanities scholar has been one of the most outstanding in
the university's history," said Paul Bidwell, head of the U of S Department
of English.

Recently, Calder was commissioned by Viking Penguin to write introductions
for its Twentieth-Century Classics Editions and by Penguin to write
introductions to several editions of Maugham's work including Of Human
Bondage and The Moon and Sixpence.

"Together, these widely read introductions will stand as a significant
commentary on Maugham's work," said Bidwell.

Not content to limit his interests to the literary realm, Calder is also the
co-author of a popular history of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Rider Pride:
The Story of Canada's Best-Loved Football Team. He also co-edited the
anthology Time as a Human Resource, an ambitious and multi-disciplinary work
on the subject of time.

Calder chaired the Department of English from 1979 to 1981, was Associate
Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts from 1981 to 1984, and served as acting
head of the Department of Music between 1989 and 1990.

All U of S Distinguished Researchers deliver a lecture after receiving the
award. Professor Calder's lecture will be scheduled for later this fall.

For more information on the award and previous winners, visit:
http://www.usask.ca/research/dist_rschr.shtml

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Note to editors: Photo of Robert Calder is available upon request.

For more information, contact:

Robert Calder
Department of English
College of Arts and Science
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-5524

Jennifer W. Webber
Research Communications
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-1474
jennifer.webber@usask.ca
www.usask.ca/research