$1M gift from Victor Koloshuk to support graduate students in Anthropology

From left: Hendrik Poinar, professor, Anthropology, Kelly Worton, senior development officer, Megan Brickley, professor, Anthropology, Paul Grossman, director of major and planned giving, Patrick Dean, McMaster President, Tracy Prowse, associate professor, Anthropology, Rob Koloshuk, Victor Koloshuk, Barb Koloshuk, Ann Herring, professor emeritus, Anthropology, Tina Moffat, associate professor and chair, Anthrology, Laura Lockau, Shelley Saunders Scholarship recipient, Mary Williams, vice-president, University Advancement, Jerry Hurley, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

BY Erica Balch

April 19, 2018

Victor Koloshuk and his family were on campus this week for a celebration in honour of his recent gift of more than $1-million to McMaster’s Department of Anthropology. It’s a gift that brings the Koloshuk family’s combined giving to $1.6-million.

The gift – the largest in the Department’s history – was made by Koloshuk in honour of his late wife Shelley Saunders, a McMaster researcher, beloved teacher and internationally renowned biological anthropologist.

The gift enhances the Shelley Saunders Scholarships in Anthropology, now known as the Shelley Saunders/Koloshuk Family Scholarship, which is aimed at attracting and supporting top tier graduate students from Canada and around the world in the field of skeletal and physical anthropology.

Read:  $1M gift to attract world’s best and brightest anthropology students

Koloshuk attended the celebration with his daughter Barb and son, Rob. Academic leaders from McMaster were also in attendance along with Shelley Saunders Scholarship recipient, Laura Lockau, and faculty members from the Department of Anthropology.

From left: Victor Koloshuk, Rob Koloshuk, Laura Lockau, Shelley Saunders Scholarship recipient, and Barb Koloshuk
From left: Victor Koloshuk; Rob Koloshuk; Laura Lockau, Shelley Saunders Scholarship recipient; and Barb Koloshuk.

McMaster President Patrick Deane gave remarks during the celebration, recognizing the impact of Saunders’ legacy on the Department and thanking Koloshuk on behalf of the university for his generous gift.

Dean of Social Sciences Jerimiah Hurley also spoke, reinforcing the ways in which the gift will advance the teaching and research missions of the Department by enhancing support for graduate students and providing them with opportunities to conduct international field research, as well as enhancing the Department’s ability to recruit and retain top research talent.

“The scholarship will give the recipients opportunities they would not have had otherwise,” said Hurley. “It will relieve considerable financial pressures and it will grant scholarship winners the kind of prestige, connections, skills and research opportunities that will help launch careers.”

Past recipients of the Shelley Saunders Scholarshipsinclude Laura Lockau and Robert James Stark. Lockau researched vitamin D deficiency and chronic respiratory infections in human skeletal material from Roman period archaeological sites in Italy and the UK. Stark examined human skeletal remains from three Imperial Roman archaeological sites in France and Italy to better understand human mobility in ancient Rome.

*Group photo above includes (from left) Hendrik Poinar, professor, Anthropology; Kelly Worton, senior development officer;  Megan Brickley, professor, Anthropology;  Paul Grossman, director of major and planned giving;  Patrick Dean, McMaster President;  Tracy Prowse, associate professor, Anthropology;  Rob Koloshuk; Victor Koloshuk; Barb Koloshuk;  Ann Herring, professor emeritus; Anthropology; Tina Moffat, associate professor and chair, Anthropology; Laura Lockau, Shelley Saunders Scholarship recipient; Mary Williams, vice-president, University Advancement; Jeremiah Hurley, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.