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Dr. Pat Maher

Dr. Pat Maher portrait
Dean / Administrative Departments - Teaching Hub
Position
Dean
Extension
4470
Website
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About
Dr. Patrick T. Maher is the inaugural Dean of Teaching and a Full Professor of Physical and Health Education at Nipissing. He is an interdisciplinary scholar, who has previously held full-time appointments at Cape Breton University, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the University of Otago. Pat has also held Visiting Scholar positions at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Southern Denmark University, the University Centre of the Westfjords (Iceland), Vancouver Island University, the University of Edinburgh, and Cambridge University. He has also collaborated extensively with colleagues across the University of the Arctic network as former Associate Dean of Circumpolar Studies and lead for the Thematic Network on Northern Tourism.

Pat has been named a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (2013), a 3M National Teaching Fellow (2014), and a Fellow of International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2020). He held a Commonwealth Scholarship for his doctoral work in New Zealand and was both a University Teaching Chair in Community-Engaged Teaching and Scholarship and a SSHRC Exchange University Research Chair in the Social Sciences and Humanities during his tenure in Cape Breton.

Pat is editor of the Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, but also sits on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Experiential Education, the Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, the Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, Pathways, and the Journal of Tourism Futures.
Education
BA, Lakehead University
HBOR, Lakehead University
PhD, Lincoln University
Research

Pat’s research focuses on three overlapping areas:

  1. the meanings that people take from their experiences visiting remote/peripheral/Polar Regions;
  2. the pedagogical approaches, such as experiential learning, that help people create action from these experiences, and;
  3. the linkages to global sustainability challenges that result when people change their values and behaviours.

Past projects have been funded by agencies such as:

  • The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
  • The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • The Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU)
  • The Lawson Foundation
  • The Nordic Council of Ministers (Nordregio)
  • The Canadian Rural Secretariat
  • Antarctica New Zealand
  • The Government of Nunavut
  • The Kingdom of Denmark
  • Go2: The Tourism Human Resources Society
  • Aboriginal Business Canada (Industry Canada)
  • The Department of Conservation (New Zealand)
  • The Ministry of Environment (British Columbia)
Publications

Selected recent publications include:

  1. Maher, P.T., Jóhannesson, G. Þ., Kvidal-Røvik, T., Müller, D.K., & Rantala, O. (2022).  Touring in the Arctic: Shades of grey towards a sustainable future. In D.C. Natcher & T.  Koivurova (Eds). Renewable Economies in the Arctic. Milton Park, UK: Routledge.
  2. Hehir, C., Stewart, E.J., Maher, P.T., & Ribeiro, M.A. (2021). Evaluating the impact of a youth polar expedition alumni programme on post-trip pro-environmental behaviour: A community-engaged research approach. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(10), 1635-1654. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1863973
  3. Normandeau, M., Kolomitro, K, & Maher, P.T. (2020). Joining a Scholarly Conversation: Publishing Your SoTL Work. Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 11(2).
  4. Tin, T., Peden, J., O’Reilly, J., Bastemeijer, K., & Maher, P.T. (2019). Preservation amenity, research laboratory, or mineral reserve? International perspectives on the values of Antarctica. Polar Record, 55(2), 61-71.
  5. Rantala, O., de la Barre, S., Granås, B., Jóhannesson, G.T., Müller, D., Saarinen, J., Tervo-Kankare, K., Maher, P.T., & Niskala, M. (2019). Arctic Tourism in Times of Change: Seasonality. TemaNord series. Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers.
  6. Snow, K., Wardley, L., Carter, L., & Maher, P.T. (2019). Lived Experiences of Online and Experiential Learning in Four Undergraduate Professional Programs. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 12, 79-93.
  7. Strean, W.B., Maher, P.T., & Brooks, K. (2019). Train Wrecks: 3M National Teaching Fellows Explore Creating Learning and Generative Responses from Colossal Failures. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 12, 119-126.
  8. Maher, P.T. (2018). Conversations across the Pond: Connections between Canadian and Western European outdoor studies over the last 20 years. In P. Becker, C. Loynes, B. Humberstone, & J. Schirp (Eds.). The Changing World of Outdoor Learning in Europe (pp. 251-263). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
  9. Maher, P.T., MacPherson, S., Doucette, M.B., Tulk, J.E., & Menge, T. (2018). Sustainability, ethics, and authenticity in Indigenous tourism: The case of Eskasoni cultural journeys on Goat Island. Journal of Aboriginal Economic Development, 11(1), pp. 90-106.
  10. Johnston, M.E., Dawson, J., & Maher, P.T. (2017). Strategic Development Challenges in Marine Tourism in Nunavut.Resources,6(3), Available at http://www.mdpi.com/journal/resources/special_issues/polar_tourism
  11. Rowsell, B., & Maher, P.T. (2017). Uniqueness as a Draw for Riding Under the Midnight Sun. In K. Latola & H. Savela (Eds.). The Interconnected Arctic. (pp. 221-229). Amsterdam: Springer.
  12. Maher, P.T. (2017). Tourism Futures in the Arctic. In K. Latola & H. Savela (Eds.). The Interconnected Arctic. (pp. 213-220). Amsterdam: Springer.
  13. Hull, J., De la Barre, S., & Maher, P.T. (2017). Peripheral Geographies of Creativity: The Case for Aboriginal Tourism in Canada’s Yukon Territory. In A. Viken & D. Müller (Eds.). Tourism and Indigeneity in the Arctic (pp. 157-181).  Bristol, UK: Channel View.
  14.  Maher, P.T. (2016). Ecotourism: Outdoor pedagogy at the periphery. In B. Humberstone, H. Prince, & K.A. Henderson (Eds.). Routledge International Handbook of Outdoor Studies (pp. 472-481). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
  15.  de la Barre, S., Maher, P.T., Dawson, J., Hillmer-Pegram, K., Huijbens, E., Lamers, M., Liggett, D., Müller, D., Pashkevich, A., & Stewart, E.J. (2016). Tourism and Arctic observation systems: Exploring the relationships. Polar Research, 35, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/polar.v35.24980