- Faculty & Staff
- About FASS
- Departments and programs
- Anthropology
- Applied Legal Studies
- Cognitive Science
- Criminology
- Economics
- English
- French
- French Cohort
- Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies
- Gerontology
- Global Asia
- Global Humanities
- Graduate Liberal Studies
- Hellenic Studies
- History
- Indigenous Languages
- Indigenous Studies
- International Studies
- Labour Studies
- Linguistics
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Public Policy
- Social Data Analytics
- Sociology
- Urban Studies
- World Languages & Literatures
- Students
- Future Students
- Current Students
- Undergraduate Students
- Advising and Resources
- Connect with Arts Central
- Plan your Program
- Career Experience
- Student Life
- FASS Forward
- FASS 200 Writing Right: Strategies for effective revision
- FASS 204 Communicating in Conflict and Negotiation
- FASS 205 Finding Voice: Public Speaking for Social Change
- FASS 206 Creating Effective Teams
- FASS 207 Cultural Humility: Understanding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- FASS 208 Introduction to Personal Financial Planning for Students
- FASS 210 Language Network Science
- FASS 211 Data Literacy and the City
- FASS 212 Introduction to Social Work Practice: Change Agency
- FASS 214 Exploring EDI: This Is My Story
- INDG 305 Treaties in Canada
- Get FASS Familiar
- Graduate Students
- Undergraduate Students
- Alumni
- Research
- News
- Community
- Teaching
- FASS at Surrey
- Make meaning
- Next steps for new students
- Convocation
FASS News, Faculty
In memoriam: Dr. George F. MacDonald (1938-2020)
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) at SFU is greatly saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. George F. MacDonald. Dr. MacDonald was an adjunct professor in the Departments of Archaeology and Indigenous Studies at SFU.
“Simon Fraser University and FASS extend our deepest sympathies to George MacDonald’s friends and family,” says acting dean Lisa Shapiro. “George MacDonald was an impressive individual with an encyclopedic knowledge of the archaeology and ethnohistory of First Peoples across Canada, and especially coastal British Columbia.”
MacDonald rose through the ranks of Canada’s National Museum to become its president and CEO in 1983. He was the guiding force behind the conception and development of the Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC, now the Canadian Museum of History), now a world class institution and monument to the rich cultural diversity of our country.
MacDonald’s appreciation and respect for the First Peoples of B.C.’s Northwest Coast opened his interest in the diverse cultural expressions that occupied so much of his life. MacDonald’s work was truly his passion. Among many of his contributions to Canadian museology and heritage studies was his early embrace of technology and his recognition of how it can bring cultures together.
Following his tenure at the CMC, MacDonald played a pivotal role bringing to life the Bill Reid Foundation and Gallery in downtown Vancouver, as well as the Bill Reid Centre at SFU which cares for the George and Joanne MacDonald Northwest Coast research collection.