Patricia Demers
Patricia Demers, English2005 University Cup
At the tenth annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning held September 9, 2005, the University of Alberta presented its highest faculty honour, the University Cup, to Dr Patricia Demers. A professor in the Faculty of Arts for 30 years and the author of 11 books, Demers works in the Department of English and Film Studies, and teaches and researches modern women's writing, 17th-century poetry, Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, and children's literature.
A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Demers developed a love of languages and after graduating from McMaster University with an Honours degree in English and French, taught these subjects in high school for two years before realizing she wanted to return to the classroom herself.
After receiving her doctorate from the University of Ottawa, Demers came to Alberta where she taught for three years as a sessional instructor before being hired as an associate professor.
Demers, brought on as a full-time faculty member in 1977, is also a past recipient of the Rutherford Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the Arts Faculty Teaching Award, and the McCalla Research Professorship Award. She also holds the title of president-elect of the Royal Society of Canada, the first woman to do so since the scholars' group was formed in 1882.