Verna Jane Kirkness

Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, 1993

Born to a Cree family and educated in Manitoba, Verna Jane Kirkness served as Director of Education for the Manitoba Indian Brotherhood in Winnipeg and the National Indian Brotherhood (now called the Assembly of First Nations) in Ottawa. She came to UBC in 1981 as Supervisor of the Native Indian Teacher Education Program, which attained tremendous strength and academic credibility under her leadership. Appointed the first Director of the First Nations House of Learning in 1987, she worked to extend support services and cultural enrichment to Native students in all UBC programs, and oversaw the conception and building of the First Nations Longhouse. During her career, Kirkness has become an outstanding and respected professional educator, earning a reputation as a spokesperson for aboriginal education. As a teacher, principal, counsellor, teacher supervisor and curriculum consultant, she has committed herself to making education available and relevant to the philosophy and needs of First Nations people. Not only has she developed a vision for Native education, she has acquired the resources and created the institutions for the realization of that vision. Verna Kirkness has been recognized with numerous honours, including the 1990 award for Outstanding Educator of British Columbia and the Youth Education Excellence Prize as Canada's Educator of the year. She has also received honorary degrees from Mount Saint Vincent and the University of Western Ontario. She has authored four books and numerous articles.

Photo courtesy of Verna J. Kirkness, 1994