Ajay Heble Dr. Ajay Heble wins the 2023 Killam Prize

Our Director, Dr. Ajay Heble, has been awarded the prestigious 2023 Killam Prize for his work as a “globally renowned scholar, visionary arts leader and innovative community builder”!

The Killam Prizes are awarded to active Canadian scholars who have distinguished themselves through sustained research excellence, making a significant impact in their respective fields of engineering, health sciences, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. Dr. Heble was awarded a prize of $100,000 for his innovative and groundbreaking research in the Humanities, particularity in the academic field of Critical Studies in Improvisation. He is one of five scholars to be recognized in 2023.

“I am truly honoured to have received such a prestigious prize,” said Heble. Regarding his colleagues at the University of Guelph and their team of international partners and collaborators, he said, “This award is a testament to a great team of people whose work has made so many amazing things possible. I’ve benefitted from the tremendous support and involvement of a vital, resilient, and socially committed community.”

Killam noted that Dr. Heble has made essential and fundamental contributions to our understanding of improvisation as a key model for social change. They concluded, “Particularly noteworthy is the way in which this new field has addressed pressing issues of social and cultural transformation: human rights, transculturalism, pedagogy, the civic participation of aggrieved populations – issues central to the challenges of diversity and social cooperation in Canada.”

You can read more about the 2023 Killam Prize Laureates and the National Killim program at killamlaureates.ca.

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