In memory of John Smart and in recognition of his contributions to the maintenance of our shared history through archival work and his lifelong commitment to social democracy the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation is pleased to establish the John Smart Scholarship in collaboration with the Smart family and the John Smart Committee composed of his closest friends and colleagues.
Housed at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information (iSchool), this scholarship will be awarded annually to a graduate student working in a field of study that reflects the work and values that enshrine John Smart’s legacy.
The John Smart Scholarship Fund is managed by the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation with a goal of raising $25,000 and will be matched by the University of Toronto's Faculty of Information to ensure the scholarship is awarded each year in perpetuity.
About John Smart
May 27, 1939 - August 29, 2021
John graduated from St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, in 1961 and in 1963 married Pat, the love of his life. In 1968 John and Pat, then Ph.D. students at Queen's University, were among the founders of the Waffle movement, a left-wing group in the New Democratic Party devoted to the creation of an independent socialist Canada.
Many of the connections they made during those years became warm, sustaining lifelong friendships for John and Pat. John worked for 18 years as an archivist at the Public Archives of Canada/NAC and in 1992 founded the Archives Technician Program at Algonquin College, where he taught until his retirement in 2000.
He was on the executive of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, a federal NDP candidate in 1979 and 1980, a provincial candidate in 1985, and an Ottawa school board trustee from 1980 to 1988.
In 2004 he completed his PhD in History at Queen's. John's great loves were his family, politics, history, archives, books, and his cottage at Lac Bataille. He was the first recipient of the Alexander Fraser Award from the Archives Association of Ontario.
John saw archives as places of democratic engagement and participation, and viewed archives as essential for the protection and promotion of Canadian identity. Writing in Archivaria, he said, "Open public research is a healthy feature in any society and those archivists in a position to protect and extend open research have a professional responsibility to do so." Criteria, as developed to adjudicate the scholarship, shall give particular consideration to applications which acknowledge and include archives as participatory forces in the advancement of social democratic values.
Please make a donation today toward the John Smart Scholarship Fund in memory of his good work.
Thank you to PIPSC for supporting this fund.
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If you and your family are interested in establishing a scholarship or award in the name of a loved one, please contact: [email protected]
