Henry Jacek of the Department of Political Science was recently honoured with a Canada Sesquicentennial award in recognition of his efforts to engage the community and McMaster students in the civic life of Canada.

Filomena Tassi, Member of Parliament and Deputy Government Whip (Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas) was on campus to present Jacek with a sesquicentennial pin, a special keepsake that combines the emblem created for the commemoration of Canada’s birthday with a small piece of history from the Parliament building — the original copper that covered the roofs from 1918 to 1996.

“This is a great honour” said Jacek when asked about the award. “I am a firm believer in providing students with innovative approaches to competency-based learning such as face-to-face interaction with public service practitioners.”

Jacek is well known as a dynamic teacher who regularly brings guest speakers from all levels of government into the classroom. In Jacek’s class, it’s not unusual to meet Members of Parliament or the Ontario Legislature. He has hosted former independent officers of legislative bodies such as former Ontario Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller, former Premier Dalton McGuinty, current civil servants and others who encourage our students to consider public careers, government and legislative internships, and community service.

“I have had the pleasure of taking one of Dr. Jacek’s classes and one thing is for certain, Dr. Jacek absolutely loves his students.  He takes pleasure in passing down as much knowledge as he can!” said Edward Hutchinson, an Honours Political Science and Communications Studies student working in MP Filomena Tassi’s constituency office this summer.

The Canada Sesquicentennial awards were created by Heritage Canada to acknowledge and thank those who, through their actions, promote inclusivity and celebrate diversity, work to improve the environment, who champion justice, equality and democratic stewardship and/or engage and inspire youth.