Nathan Matthew, chief of Simpcw First Nation, is to be Thompson Rivers University’s new chancellor.
Matthew is to be installed as chancellor during a ceremony to be held Wednesday morning, June 6, in the Tournament Capital Centre at TRU. The installation will be part of during the Faculty of Science Convocation Ceremony.
The Simpcw chief will be TRU’s third chancellor. He is a highly-regarded educator and advocate for Aboriginal education, at the local, provincial and national level.
READ MORE: Simpcw support pipeline project (April 23, 2018)
He was a founding member and chair of School District 73’s First Nations Education Council, and a member of the First Nations Chiefs Committee on Education. He played a key role in the passage of the historic Tripartite Education Framework Agreement between First Nations, provincial and federal governments which guaranteed First Nations schools the same rights as other educational institutions.
Matthew has strong ties to TRU. He was the university’s first executive director of Aboriginal Education from 2006 to 2014, where he provided support for the university’s deepening relationships with its First Nation communities, as well as for the development of a stronger education program for Aboriginal students.
TRU’s third chancellor has been recognized for his service to his community and education, receiving an Honorary Doctorate in Letters from TRU in 2006, the national Inspire Award for Education in 2017 and, in 2018, School District 73’s Owl Award of Excellence in Public Education.
He takes the place of Wally Oppal, who has been chancellor since 2011. Nancy Greene Raine was TRU’s first chancellor.
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