Announcing the Churchill Foundation Vancouver Island Barry Gough Scholarship in English

Today, on the 146th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s birthday, the Faculty of Humanities is pleased to announce the creation of the Churchill Foundation Vancouver Island Barry Gough Scholarship in English.

This scholarship will support academically outstanding undergraduate English students in their upper years of study who have demonstrated leadership, innovation and determination in their academic work and through community engagement.

“This new scholarship is really important for students in the 21st century because it recognizes innovation in both academic and public spheres,” says Humanities Associate Dean Academic Lisa Surridge. “It’s a powerful combination — the world needs more smart, innovative and determined leaders right now.”

Created in memory of Sir Winston Churchill, the scholarship was made possible by the generosity of the Churchill Foundation Vancouver Island and renowned historian, biographer, author and UVic alumnus Barry Morton Gough.

Born in Victoria and educated at Victoria College, UVic’s predecessor, Gough completed an undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia and a PHD at King’s College London. He was awarded a Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) from the University of London for distinguished contributions to Commonwealth history.

Gough’s distinguished career includes teaching at Western Washington University and Wilfred Laurier University, where he was founding director of the Canadian Studies program, Assistant Dean of Arts and an instructor for 32 years. His many achievements include being named fellow of the Royal Historical Society, fellow of King’s College London, and Life Member of the Association of Canadian Studies. In 2019, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award for his contributions to the UVic community.

A prolific author with more than twenty books and several hundred articles on Canadian and British maritime and naval history, Gough has long been fascinated with Sir Winston Churchill. In addition to having served as president of the Winston Churchill Society of Vancouver Island and as member of the board of academic advisers of the Churchill Centre in Chicago, Gough published the widely acclaimed book Churchill and Fisher: Titans at the Admiralty in 2017, which examined the individual roles played by Churchill and First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John Fisher in the administration of the Royal Navy during the First World War.

At the University of Victoria, Barry Gough has generously supported the creation of eight scholarships, including the Barry Gough Scholarship in History and the new John Gough Scholarship for Studies in the History of the Environment, both of which are endowed.

“The English department is very grateful to Barry Gough and to the Churchill Foundation Vancouver Island for creating this opportunity for our students. This scholarship recognizes the social value in a literary education and will encourage our best students to make engaged citizenship an integral responsibility of humanistic knowledge.”

- Professor Michael Nowlin, Chair of the department of English