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History professor joins International Science Council Fellowship

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Dr. Karly Kehoe

The International Science Council has appointed Dr. Karly Kehoe as an ISC Fellow, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to promoting science as a global public good.

Based in Paris, the ISC is the largest international scientific organization and the Fellowship is the highest honour it confers on individuals. Dr. Kehoe is among 100 new ISC Fellows appointed from around the world, and just one of four Canadians who recently joined the esteemed group.

Along with 123 previous appointments, the new ISC Fellows will “support the Council in its mission at a critical moment for science and sustainability as we enter the UN’s International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development in 2024,” said the December 19 announcement.

Kehoe is a Professor of History at Saint Mary’s University, and the Canada Research Chair in Atlantic Canada Communities.

“I was so pleased to have been nominated by the National Research Council—and then delighted to be one of four Canadians appointed,” she says. “It’s significant for me because it demonstrates the value the international science community is placing on the humanities; on the perspectives we provide. The ISC recognizes that interdisciplinarity is a necessity.”

The ISC Fellowship was created in 2022 to recognize eminent social and natural scientists, engineers and thought leaders who have made impactful contributions to science and society.

“Saint Mary’s is proud to have Dr. Kehoe as one of our Canada Research Chairs, devoted to Atlantic Canada studies while at the same time making such a large global impact. It shows the true strength of her scholarly work to engage communities and inform policymakers,” says Dr. Adam Sarty, the university’s Associate Vice-President of Research and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.

As a historian, Kehoe has long been an advocate of science diplomacy. She serves as a member of the ISC’s Freedom and Responsibility in Science Standing Committee and sits on the InterAcademy Partnership’s (IAP) Policy Advice Development Committee, and the Science in Exile’s steering committee (a partnership of UNESCO-TWAS, ISC and IAP).

As an ISC Fellow, “my main focus will continue to be science diplomacy through research and advocacy,” she says. “The benefits of research need to be made available to everyone, and the scientific community has a responsibility to be honest brokers in enabling access. This is my priority—it’s the only way to rebuild and retain trust in science.”

Among many other achievements, Kehoe was president of the Royal Society of Canada’s (RSC) College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists (2020-2022) and is the founder and lead of the RSC’s At-Risk and Displaced Academics and Artists (ARDAA) program. She also co-founded the At-Risk and Academic Refugee Membership programme (Young Academy of Scotland) and the At-Risk Scholar Initiative (Global Young Academy).

"The ISC Fellowship recognizes individuals who are ambassadors and advocates working tirelessly for science internationally and for the vital importance of evidence-informed policymaking,” Professor Terrence Forrester, Chair of the ISC Fellowship Council, said in the announcement. “ISC Fellows hail from wide-ranging geographies, sectors, disciplines and career stages, and we look forward to working with them all in multiple capacities in the coming months and years."

In her research at Saint Mary’s, Kehoe explores settler colonialism and how religious minority migrants acquired and exercised colonial privilege in the north Atlantic world between 1750 and 1850. She also examines the complex links between Catholic colonialism in the Caribbean and what would become Atlantic Canada. Her most recent book is Empire and Emancipation: Scottish and Irish Catholics at the Atlantic Fringe (University of Toronto Press, 2022).

Kehoe has also held research fellowships at Trinity College Dublin, Durham University, Middle Tennessee State University, Yale University, and the University of Guelph. She is the Convenor of the Scottish Historical Review Trust and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. She is the board chairperson and academic lead of the Gorsebrook Research Institute for Atlantic Canada Studies.

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