Dr. Iain Higgins receives HUMS Award for Outstanding Graduate Supervision and Mentorship
Congratulations to Dr. Iain Higgins for receiving the HUMS Award for Outstanding Graduate Supervision and Mentorship. The award recognizes faculty members with an extensive and exceptional record of graduate supervision who have helped graduate students command a comprehensive knowledge of their field of study, encouraged them to share and disseminate their research, and supported them in ways tailored to their individual needs and aspirations.
A Harvard-trained medievalist with expertise in contemporary Canadian poetry, Scottish literature, Environmental Humanities, and Polish poetry, Dr. Higgins models a breadth of scholarship sought out by a wide range of students. His vast experience and commitment to graduate success culminated in his co-teaching a summer 2025 graduate seminar on Indigenous writing and journal production, alongside renowned storyteller Richard Van Camp (Tłı̨chǫ Dene). In his capacity as editor of The Malahat Review, Dr. Higgins took 19 graduate students on an intensive six-week journey to produce a special issue on Emerging Indigenous Writing, providing an invaluable experiential-learning opportunity for students to participate in journal production.
In his many decades as a scholarly adviser, Dr. Higgins has encouraged countless students to move on to careers in academia, creative writing, and editing. Previous students cite Dr. Higgins’s “unbounded generosity” and “compassionate approach” as invaluable to their successfully and happily finishing their degrees.