September 7, 2000 For Immediate Release

A memorial service for Founding UNBC President Geoffrey Weller will be held at the University on Saturday, September 9th. The service will begin at 1pm in the Canfor Theatre.

Speakers will include representatives from Canadian universities, former students and founding employees of UNBC, and scholarly colleagues of Dr Weller.

Geoffrey Weller was appointed President of UNBC in Fall 1990, and arrived in January 1991. He oversaw the development of UNBC: its academic plan, the construction of the Prince George campus, the development of its regional mandate, and the hiring of many faculty and staff. He was largely responsible for setting out the University's five initial themes: women's studies, the environment, First Nations, the North, and international studies. In 1995, a year after Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II opened the campus, Dr Weller stepped down as President, but continued at UNBC as a professor in the International Studies program.

Dr Weller began his teaching career at Bishop's University in Lennoxville Quebec, and in 1971 moved to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, where he became Vice-President Academic. While at Lakehead, he established the Lakehead University Centre for Northern Studies, the Northern Ontario Medical Program with McMaster University, and the Association of Circumpolar Universities. He was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Lapland, Finland, in 1999 for his work on northern development.