Chad Gaffield

Chad Gaffield OC FRSC
Gaffield in 2021
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	Historian
Employer	University of Ottawa
Known for	Digital humanities, science policy
Title	Distinguished University Professor and Professor of History Emeritus
Awards	Officer of the Order of Canada Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

Chad Gaffield OC FRSC is a Distinguished University Professor and Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Ottawa in Canada. He is known for his expertise on the sociocultural history of Canada, as a pioneer of the digital humanities, and for his role in Canadian science policy. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

Education

Chad Gaffield received his BA and MA from McGill University, and his PhD from the University of Toronto. ^[6]

Career

Dr. Gaffield served as president of the Canadian Historical Association from 2000 to 2001 ^[7] and led the interdisciplinary, multi-institutional and cross-sectoral Canadian Century Research Infrastructure (CCRI) initiative from 2001 to 2008. ^[8]

He was appointed President and CEO of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) in 2006 and served in this role until 2014. As president of SSHRC, he helped define a new model of innovation that reaffirms the contributions of social sciences and humanities research to our society, economy and quality of life. ^[9]

In 2016, Dr. Gaffield became President-elect of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), Canada’s national academy for all research fields. During his mandate as RSC President, 2017-2019, ^[10] the RSC expanded engagement domestically and internationally including the launch of the G7 Research Summits. ^[11]

From 2019 to 2024 he held the University Research Chair in Digital Scholarship at the University of Ottawa and  from 2022 to 2025, he served as CEO of U15 Canada. ^[12] As of 2019, he serves on the advisory board of the Leaders' Debates Commission. ^{[13] [14]}

Select honours

• J.B. Tyrrell Historical Medal in (2004) for "outstanding contributions to the study of Canada"
• Antonio Zampolli Prize (2011) presented at Standford University, for "outstanding output in the digital humanities" ^[15]
• Doctor of Laws honoris causa from Carleton University (2015), "in recognition of his impressive accomplishments as a researcher, a visionary leader, and a spokesperson for the social sciences and humanities in Canada" ^[16]
• Officer in the Order of Canada (2017) for "leadership in interdisciplinary collaboration [that] has transformed the research landscape in Canada" ^{[17] [18]}

References

1. "Chad Gaffield". uottawa.ca. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
2. "Gaffield, Chad". uottawa.ca. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
3. "History of Education in Canada". thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
4. Owens, Brian (2023-06-14). "A new era of research security". University Affairs. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
5. "Dr. Chad Gaffield". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
6. Gaffield, Chad (1978). Cultural challenge in eastern Ontario : land, family and education in the nineteenth century. University of Toronto, Thesis, Dissertation.
7. "Chad Gaffield (2000-2001) Canadian Historical Association - Société historique du Canada". Canadian Historical Association. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
8. Gaffield, Chad (Spring 2007). "Conceptualizing and Constructing the Canadian Century Research Infrastructure". Historical Methods. 40 (2): 54–64. doi:10.3200/HMTS.40.2.54-64. hdl:10393/36247.
9. "Chad Gaffield resigning as president of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council". ottawacitizen. Archived from the original on 2025-07-03. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
10. "RSC Presidents". The Royal Society of Canada. 2025-07-14. Retrieved 2025-08-21.
11. "Sommet G7 Ottawa Summit | Media". The Royal Society of Canada. 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
12. "The U15 appoints Chad Gaffield as its new Executive Director - U15 Canada" . Retrieved 2025-08-12.
13. "The Commission". Leaders' Debates Commission. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
14. Vigliotti, Marco (2019-03-22). "Ex-politicians Leslie, Manley, Grey to sit on debates' commission advisory board". iPolitics. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
15. "Antonio Zampolli Prize Recipients – Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations" . Retrieved 2025-08-12.
16. "Chad Gaffield - Senate". carleton.ca. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
17. "Dr. Chad Gaffield". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
18. Malyk, Lauren (Jun 30, 2017). "Nine Ottawans appointed to the Order of Canada". Ottawa Citizen . Retrieved Aug 12, 2025.

External links

Official website

Professional and academic associations
Preceded by Maryse Lassonde	President of the Royal Society of Canada 2017–2019	Succeeded by Jeremy N. McNeil