In February 2015 the Oral History Centre welcomed Dr. Stacey Zembrzycki from Concordia University to present her work as part of the Sanford Riley Fellowship Lecture Series . An accomplished Oral Historian, Dr. Zembrzycki lead an afternoon seminar on the challenges of oral history interviewing, and the next evening presented a lecture on her own research into the Depression-era experiences of the Ukrainian community in Sudbury, Ontario. Dr. Zembrzycki spoke in particular to the challenges and opportunities she encountered in “sharing authority” with her Baba, an insider to Sudbury’s Ukrainian Community who had initially helped to facilitate many of the interviews informing Zembrzycki’s research, who then became a fixture in Zembrzycki’s research method as well as research. This ultimately successful collaborative process led to Zembrzycki publishing According to Baba: A Collaborative Oral History of Sudbury’s Ukrainian Community (UBC Press, 2014).

The Riley Fellowship in Canadian History promotes the study and dissemination of Canadian history. This fellowship is awarded annually to a scholar or scholars of Canadian history interested in pursuing and sharing their interest in the study of Canada with the faculy and students at the University of Winipeg and interested members of the community. The Department of History, University of Winnipeg is responsible for the selection of the Riley Fellows and the administration of the programme.

Funding for the Riley Fellowship in Canadian History is made possible through a generous endowment from Sandy Riley of Winnipeg who is an enthusiastic student of the history of Canada. He is a former Chancellor of the University of Winnipeg and a vigorous supporter of Canada’s Natural History Society.