Published by Communications and Public Affairs 519 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338

News Release

September 26, 2005

Sunter, Stewart to Be Remembered at Colloquium

The University of Guelph will host its semi-annual Scottish Studies colloquium Oct. 1 in Room 102 of Rozanski Hall. Members of the public, the media and the academic community are invited to attend.

Prof. Graeme Morton, U of G 's Scottish Studies Foundation Chair, will give the welcome address at 9:45 a.m. and a lecture on "Jane Porter and the Scottish Chiefs: Romancing Wallace" at 11:15 a.m.

The colloquium was launched more than 30 years ago. This year's theme is the 700th anniversary of the death of Scottish patriot William Wallace, who is best known today as the subject of Mel Gibson's award-winning film Braveheart.

"It's an opportunity for Ontario's Scottish community and Scottish studies at U of G to come together," said Morton. "It's a celebration of culture and an important event in our program."

The colloquium begins at 10 a.m. with a lecture on "The First War of Independence" by Prof. Elizabeth Ewan. Ewan will also address the audience at 2 p.m. with "A Celebration of the Life of Professor emeritus Ronald McLean Sunter." Sunter was a member of U of G's history faculty and the Scottish Studies program from 1972 until his retirement in 2000. He died in August.

"Scottish studies at Guelph has suffered the sudden and unexpected loss of one of its longest- serving and most devoted members," said Ewan. "Those who regularly attend the Scottish Studies colloquia will remember his calm and quiet but always cheerful presence. His untimely death is a great loss to us all."

After 3 p.m. University of Toronto professor emeritus Cecily Watson will present David Stevenson, professor emeritus of history at St. Andrew's University, with the Frank Watson Prize for the Best Book in Scottish History published in 2003/2004. This will be followed by a plenary lecture by Stevenson on his book The Hunt for Rob Roy: The Man and the Myths.

The inaugural Edward Stewart Graduate Scholarship in Scottish Studies will also be presented. The $15,000 award is made in memory of Edward Stewart, who was a former Ontario deputy minister of education and secretary of cabinet. As past president of the Scottish Studies Foundation, he was chair of a fundraising committee that raised enough money to finance North America's first endowed chair in Scottish Studies.

The colloquium will also feature performances by the Halton/Peel Burns Society and U of G history student Erin Grant, as well as a day-long book sale. The day will finish with a reception at the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, 358 Gordon St., at 4 p.m.

The fee for the colloquium is $35 for members of the Scottish Studies Foundation, $40 for non-members and $10 for students. Lunch is included. For more information or to register call (519) 824-4120, Ext. 53209, or send e-mail to scottish@uoguelph.ca.

For more details about the colloquium, visit the Scottish studies website.