Where are They Now

Dr. Wayne D. Goodfellow (1975)

Wayne-GoodfellowDr. Wayne Goodfellow is a member of the first group of recipients to have been awarded an O’Brien post-Graduate Fellowship in 1975. He had just completed a study of the world-class Brunswick No. 12 Zn-Pb-Cu ore deposit near Bathurst, N.B., as part of a Ph.D. thesis at the University of New Brunswick when the O’Brien Foundation launched a major program to fund post-graduate research. The timing was opportune but the fact he was from the Miramichi region, the home of Honourable J. Leonard O'Brien and his wife Kathleen O'Brien, made this new fellowship program seem almost providential. Since he grew up on a small farm outside of Newcastle, he was naturally well aware of the O’Brien Family and the major role that they had played in the development of a lumber industry in the area and in the political and social life of the Miramichi in particular and New Brunswick in general.

After being awarded an O’Brien Fellowship, which was renewal up to three years, he continued his research at the University of New Brunswick with a focus on the development and testing of new and effective methods of exploring for mineral deposits concealed at depth in the Earth’s crust. However, as it turned out, he was an O’Brien Fellow for only one year. In 1976, he was offered the position of Research Scientist at the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) in Ottawa where he has had a long career that spanned more than 35 years. His research interests are fairly broad and include the genesis seafloor hydrothermal sulphide deposits (Sedex, VMS), the evolution of oceans and atmospheres through time, the cause and consequences of giant meteorite impacts, and the development of deeply penetrating geochemical exploration methods. This research has taken him around the world and to most parts of Canada including the far north, and has facilitated collaboration with international and multidisciplinary teams of scientists. For example, research along the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the western coast of Canada allowed him to dive to the ocean floor in the Alvin submersible to observe active vents and spectacular chemosynthetic biological communities, and to participate in the drilling of the oceanic crust under the international Ocean Drilling Program. Perhaps one of the most exciting research projects was the search for the cause of mass biological extinctions in the geological record, such as the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction event about 65 million years ago when dinosaurs were wiped out by a giant meteorite impacting the Yucatan Peninsula in northern Mexico.

Dr. James Mark Shields (1992)

james-mark-shieldsAfter completing a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology and political theory from McGill University in 1991, Mark was accepted into the graduate program of the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.  In July 1993, he graduated with a Masters of Philosophy in Social and Political Theory, having written a thesis on the emergence of religious fundamentalism in the modern West. The funding he received from the O'Brien foundation helped make this degree possible.

In 1994, Mark decided to return to Canada to continue his studies in the field of comparative religions. He received an M.A. in 1997, and a Ph.D., both from McGill, in 2006. During this time his research focus shifted to Asia - Japan, in particular - and he spent five years (2000- 2005) in Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan, studying Japanese and researching movements in modern and contemporary Buddhist ethics. In early 2006, Mark received his Ph.D., and was soon hired as Assistant Professor at Bucknell University, a top-tier liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.  In 2010, his position was shifted from the Religion Department to the Comparative Humanities program, allowing him to teach a broader range of seminar courses in the humanities to a select group of highly motivated students. 

In 2011, Mark published his first book, entitled Critical Buddhism: Engaging with Modern Japanese Buddhist Thought (Ashgate Press, UK). He is presently researching his second book on progressive political movements within modern Japanese Buddhism.  On the basis of his record of scholarship and teaching, he was recently granted tenure at Bucknell, and has been promoted to Associate Professor of Comparative Humanities and Asian Thought.  Mark has recently taken on a position at Bucknell as Graduate Studies Advising Coordinator, which gives him responsibility for advising all students who plan to attend graduate school in any discipline.  In addition, he assists students with their applications for graduate scholarships and fellowships.

pdfCritical Buddhism - Engaging with Modern Japanese Buddhist Thought, by James Mark Shields, Bucknell University (PDF - 471 KB)

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William Secord (1978)

WSecordWilliam Secord is the president of William Secord Gallery, Inc. in New York City. The gallery specializes in fine nineteenth and twentieth century dog and animal paintings.

With a background in art history and arts administration (B.A. with Honors in Art History, Carleton University; M.A. Arts Administration, New York University), Secord worked at the Museum of American Folk Art before embarking on his career in dog and animal art. In 1981 he became the first director of The Dog Museum of America in New York City, where he mounted an extensive series of thematic exhibitions. When the Museum relocated to St. Louis in 1986, Secord started his own art business and in 1990 opened a commercial gallery at 52 East 76th Street in Manhattan.

The author of many articles on the subject of the dog in art, Secord also wrote Dog Painting, 1840-1940, A Social History of the Dog in Art. With 350 pages and some 450 illustrations, the foreword was written by the late Mrs. Vincent Astor. First published in August of 1992 it is now in its sixth printing.

In 1996 Secord curated a major exhibition of dog paintings for Brain Trust, Inc., with loans from many private collections as well as The Victoria and Albert Museum and The National Portrait Gallery in London. The exhibition traveled to museums in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, Japan.

Secord is the author of Dog Painting, The European Breeds, his second book for The Antique Collectors' Club, published in 2000. His third book on nineteenth century dog painting, A Breed Apart; Selections from The Collections of The American Kennel Club and The American Kennel Club Museum of The Dog, was published in 2001. Secord co-authored Best in Show, The Dog in Art from the Renaissance to the Present, a catalogue published by Yale University Press, 2006. With 456 pages and 525 color illustrations, Dog Painting, a History of the Dog in Art, was first published in 2009, and it was quickly followed by a second edition. His latest book, The American Dog at Home, The Dog Portraits of Christine Merrill was published by ACC Editions in 2010, and is currently in its second printing.

An acknowledged expert in the field, Secord has lectured extensively on dog painting, recently giving the annual Paul Mellon lecture on Sporting Art for the Friends of British Sporting Art in London. He has lectured at The Dog Museum, St. Louis; The Kennel Club, London; Sotheby’s, New York; the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach; The Sporting Art Library and Museum in Middleburg, VA, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. He is active in many dog and animal-related charities, having been on the national Board of Directors of The ASPCA from 1997 to 2008. He is a member of The Kennel Club, London, The Morris and Essex Kennel Club in New Jersey, on the Board of Directors of the Friends of British Sporting Art and a Life Member of The British Sporting Art Trust.

Dr. Baukje (Bo) Miedema (1991)

bo-miedemaAs Director of Research at the Dalhousie University Family Medicine Teaching Unit in Fredericton New Brunswick, Bo is responsible for overseeing resident projects. In addition, she maintains  a primary health care research program.

Bo is Chair of the Resident Project Committee which oversees all aspects of the resident projects across all seven Dalhousie University distributed family medicine learning sites in the Maritimes.   She also works with many residents from sites other than Fredericton who are interested in completing a research project.

Bo serves on several Dalhousie University committees including the Departmental Research Committee, the committee which selects resident project awards, and a program evaluation committee.

In addition to the residency project responsibilities, she oversees a very active research program for the Fredericton Family Medicine Teaching Unit. As either Principle Investigator or a Co-investigator, she has been successful in generating millions of dollars in research funds over the years. As a result Bo has supervised many research assistants ranging from summer students to a postdoctoral fellow.  In addition, she has hired many summer students who have gone on to complete medical school.  Several have come back as residents to the Fredericton program.

As a researcher,  Bo has given more than a 100 research presentations at local, regional, national and international conferences.   She has published more than 50 peer reviewed research articles  contributing to an academic knowledge base.

She attends several local, national and international conferences and has built a solid academic reputation resulting in her being appointed to a conference program committee.

She has served on the College of Family Physicians of Canada Section of Researchers Committee for seven years.  Her academic contributions also include reviews for national and international granting agencies and peer reviewed journals. In summary, over the years, Bo has built a strong reputation as a primary health care researcher in New Brunswick.  She has made a substantial contribution to the field of primary care research and is a productive primary health care researcher in New Brunswick.

Baukje (Bo) Miedema, RN, BA, MA & PhD This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.