Ken Coates (born 1956) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

focused on the history of the

Canadian North Bradley Air Services, operating as Canadian North, is a wholly Inuit-owned airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. It operates scheduled passenger services to communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Nunavik region ...

and Aboriginal rights and indigenous claims. His other areas of specialization include Arctic sovereignty; science, technology and society, with an emphasis on Japan; world and comparative history; and

post-secondary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

. Coates is a professor and

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

in Regional Innovation, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, and Director, International Centre for Northern Governance and Development at the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

. In 2015, Coates was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. While Coates was dean of arts at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...

, he played an integral role in the development of the

University of Waterloo Stratford Campus The Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business, also known as the University of Waterloo Stratford School and formerly the University of Waterloo Stratford Campus, is a satellite campus of the University of Waterloo located in Stratfo ...

and was a member of the Waterloo Stratford Campus Advisory Board.University of Waterloo Stratford Campus Advisory Board Members
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Early life and education

Coates received his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

, and his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Langara College from 1980 to 1982 and at the

from 1982 to 1983. He then joined Brandon University as an associate professor from 1983 to 1986 before joining the History Department at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

from 1986 to 1992. In 1991 Coates was appointed the first vice-president academic at the

University of Northern British Columbia The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) is a small, research-intensive public university in British Columbia, Canada. The main campus is located in Prince George, with additional campuses located in Prince Rupert, Terrace, Quesnel, and ...

, where he stayed until 1995. Coates taught at the

University of Waikato , mottoeng = For The People , established = 1964; years ago , endowment = (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $263.6 million (31 December 2020) , chancellor = Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO, KStJ , vice_chancellor = Neil Quigley , cit ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

from 1995 to 1997. He has held the position of Dean of Arts at the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Ameri ...

from 1997 to 2000, the

from 2001 to 2004, and the University of Waterloo from 2006 to 2012.

Challenging university myths

In the 2011 publication entitled ''Campus Confidential'', Coates along with his co-author Bill Morrison argue that there is no evidence for the claim that "a highly educated workforce is crucial to national success," and therefore question why " untries are racing to educate their youth." They challenge the necessity of "continued exponential growth in undergraduate education," meaning that an increasing proportion of first-year students are not really capable of university-level studies, and that many graduates in some fields of study must consider jobs for which they are overqualified.

The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)

Coates, in a 2013 series co-authored with Terry Mitchell, entitled ''The Rise of the Fourth World'', argued that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

in 2007 and endorsed by Canada in 2010, resonates powerfully with Indigenous peoples, while national governments have not yet fully understood its impact. UNDRIP which codifies "Indigenous historical grievances, contemporary challenges and socio-economic, political and cultural aspirations" is a "culmination of generations-long efforts by Indigenous organizations to get international attention, to secure recognition for their aspirations, and to generate support for their political agendas."

Call for support in standing with the Jewish people in Canada

In a 2009 op-ed published in the

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

, Coates expressed concern for the rising tide of

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and called for other Canadians to respect Jews as Canadians and to recognize their contributions to Canada. He argued, "Standing with the Jewish people of Canada does not assume unquestioning support for Israel or the actions of the current government." He warned that as Canadians, they "must make it clear, before hostile words turn into aggressive actions, that the Jews will never again stand alone."

Citations

References