Two renowned UBC scientists, a former director of the Museum of Anthropology, and the first director of the First Nations House of Learning have been named to the Order of Canada.
Dr. Donald Calne and Dr. Judith Hall were named officers of the Order of Canada while Prof. Emeritus Michael Ames and Assoc. Prof. Emerita Verna Kirkness have been named members of the order.
Calne, director of UBC's Neuro-degenerative Disorders Centre, is a leading clinician and researcher. Well-known around the world for his work to understand Parkinson's disease, he will chair the XIII International Parkinson's Disease Congress in 1999 in Vancouver.
Dr. Judith Hall's research focuses on human congenital anomalies, health-care delivery and the value of folic acid in reducing birth defects. As a clinical geneticist, she is able to apply new genetic techniques to patient care. Head of Pediatrics at UBC and B.C.'s Children's Hospital, she has earned a Senior Killam Prize and the B.C. Science Council Gold Medal Award for research.
A professor emeritus in the Anthropology and Sociology Dept., Ames is well known for his teaching and publishing on the topics of anthropology, museums and public culture and for his research in Sri Lanka, India and British Columbia.
In 1974, he began to build on the work of the founding curator and director of the Museum of Anthropology, Audrey and Harry Hawthorn. The museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and Ames is credited with guiding its development into one of the world's most prominent research and educational museums.
Verna Kirkness, an associate professor emerita in Education, became head of UBC's Native Indian Teacher Education Program in 1981 and six years later, director of the First Nations House of Learning.
Her leadership included building the First Nations Longhouse. She received an honorary degree from UBC in 1994.
The Order of Canada was established in 1967 to recognize outstanding achievement and service by Canadians in various fields of human endeavour.