Francess Georgina Halpenny (May 27, 1919 – December 25, 2017) was a Canadian editor and professor. Born in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, she received a master's degree in English language and literature from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in 1941. She joined the editorial department of the

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calendar. Its first s ...

in 1941. She was appointed managing editor in 1965 and associate director (academic) in 1979. She served as dean of the Faculty of Library Science at the University of Toronto from 1972 to 1978, now known as

University of Toronto Faculty of Information The Faculty of Information (or the iSchool at the University of Toronto) is an undergraduate and graduate school at the St. George campus in Downtown Toronto. It offers the following programs: a Bachelor of Information (BI), a Master of Informati ...

. From 1969 to 1988, she was a general editor of the ''

Dictionary of Canadian Biography The ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' (''DCB''; ) is a dictionary of biographical entries for individuals who have contributed to the history of Canada. The ''DCB'', which was initiated in 1959, is a collaboration between the University of Toro ...

'' and promoted Canadian history on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

. In 1979, she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

and was promoted to Companion in 1984. In 1977 she was made a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

. She was awarded the

Molson Prize The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for the Arts is awarded by the Canada Council, Canada Council for the Arts. Two prizes are awarded annually to distinguished individuals. One prize is awarded in the arts, one in the social sciences and human ...

in 1983 for her editorial work on the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography''. She has also received eleven honorary degrees from various Canadian universities. Halpenny died in December 2017 at the age of 98.

References

External links

* Series o
video interviews
in which Miss Halpenny, at age 98, reminisces about her early life; Crestwood School, recorded in March 2017.
Francess Georgina Halpenny archival papers
held at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management ServicesFrancess Halpenny
at The Canadian Encyclopedia

1919 births 2017 deaths Canadian university and college faculty deans Women deans (academic) Companions of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Academics from Ottawa Print editors University of Toronto alumni {{editor-stub