About Nora and Ted Sterling

A unique endowment fund, established at Simon Fraser University, by Nora and Ted Sterling, will honor and encourage work which provokes, and/or contributes to the understanding of controversy. It makes possible, in perpetuity, The Sterling prize in support of controversy, providing for a cash award and administrative operating expenses. The $5,000 annual prize will be offered for the first time in 1993.

"This is an unusual venture in a world in which controversy is discouraged rather than encouraged. We hope, that by providing a substantial reward for creative, unconventional effort, it will contribute to works of this nature gaining both a forum and a degree of respectability," Nora and Ted Sterling explain.

"As well, we believe that SFU is less conventional and 'stuffy' than most universities and hope the Sterling prize will help generate and kindle untraditional and adventurous new work at the university,' they continue.

The Sterling prize will be awarded for work in any field, including - but not limited to - the fine arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and education. To be eligible for the prize, the work must be the object of, or present a meaningful analysis of, the conduct or consequences of controversy.

However, to win, the work must be more than simply controversial. It should present new ways of looking at the world, be daring and creative, decidedly unconventional and distinctly untraditional. In short, the Sterling prize celebrates work that challenges complacency. But it must also meet recognizably high standards and be morally and ethically sound.

The selection of the annual prizewinner is the responsibility of the Sterling prize committee. SFU's philosophy department will begin the process by nominating committee members.

"Controversy lies at the heart of the philosophical tradition the department represents," according to Larry Resnick, chair of philosophy at SFU. "The more widespread a belief, and the more it is taken to be essential to ‘right-thinking,' the more likely it is to come under skeptical philosophical scrutiny. Therefore, the philosophy department is honored to play a role in the establishment of the Sterling prize."

The Sterlings arrived in Vancouver in 1972 when, Dr. Ted Sterling established the computer science program at SFU and served as its first chair. The program has developed into the school of computing science, considered one of the leading centers of computing research in Canada. Dr. Sterling's present work is in computational epidemiology, an esoteric way of hunting the cause of diseases, by using computers and mathematics.

Nora Sterling completed a master’s degree in psychology and helped pioneer community-based care programs for mental patients in the United States, before moving to Vancouver. She has since played a major role in numerous ventures in the arts, including partnership in "The Small Indulgence," the first store to bring naive folkart to the city. During the last 10 years, with well-known glassblower David New-Small, she has developed a major art glass studio on Granville Island.

The winner of the Sterling prize will give a public lecture (performance, exhibition) of his/her work in September or October of the year in which the award is made. Preferably the prize is to be awarded to students, faculty, staff and alumni of SFU. In exceptional cases, however, the Sterling prize may be awarded to a person unconnected to Simon Fraser University.

"Individuals who question conventional wisdom or search beyond the vision of others have made an inestimable contribution to human progress," says Jack Blaney, SFU's vice-president Harbour Centre and external relations. "Because freedom to study, create and research is essential to all universities, we are delighted to accept the Sterling endowment. It represents a unique, important and permanent challenge and opportunity in the SFU community.