In Memoriam, David Taras, Faculty of Arts

Campus flag lowered on June 16, 2022
David Taras

The academic, political and media communities are all mourning the loss of Dr. David Taras, PhD, professor emeritus of Communications and Culture at the University of Calgary and Ralph Klein Chair in Media Studies at Mount Royal University, who died on June 9 at the age of 72.

Taras was widely acknowledged as an intellectual leader in the fields of Canadian mass media studies and Canadian politics, and he was an inspiration to both his peers and generations of students.

Before joining MRU in 2012, Taras taught at the University of Toronto, the University of Amsterdam and, most recently, UCalgary, where he served as the Ernest C. Manning Chair in Canadian Studies. While here, he received the Students' Union Award for Teaching Excellence five times and was inducted into the Teaching Excellence Awards Hall of Fame in 2011.

“David Taras was influential in the lives of so many people,” says Dr. Ted Morton, PhD, a professor emeritus of Political Science at UCalgary and a longtime friend and peer to Taras. “He touched the lives of hundreds of students over the course of his long career, guiding young scholars as graduate students and as they went on to become young professionals. He organized many conferences, helping young scholars network and form important professional relationships to boost their careers.”

Adds Dr. Ian Brodie, MA'92, PhD'97, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science who served as former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Chief of Staff: “David was a genuinely gifted teacher on so many subjects — communications, politics, identity — and connected effortlessly with students from every background. Amazingly, his research and commentary brought him renown across Canada but also in local communities here in Calgary. His insight scaled from neighbourhood and city issues up to the province, the country and beyond.”

Taras received a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto and was a graduate of the Legislative Internship Program at Queen's Park. He served as an advisor to the Alberta government on national unity and as an expert advisor to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage during its two-year review of Canadian broadcasting policy from 2001 to 2003.

He was also president of the Canadian Communications Association and served two terms on the Board of Governors of the University of Calgary. He received the Alberta Centennial Medal in 2005.

A leading expert in Canadian media policy and its relationship to Canadian identity and democracy, he is the author of The Newsmakers: The Media's Influence on Canadian Politics (1990) and Power & Betrayal in the Canadian Media (2001). He is co-author of The Last Word: Media Coverage of the Supreme Court of Canada (2006) and The End of the CBC? (2020).

“When I went into politics, David's commentary could sometimes upset the partisan apple cart, but it never hurt our friendship over three decades,” says Brodie.

Adds Morton: “David was widely known as a wonderful collaborator who was gracious and considerate to those he worked with. He was most interested in helping others. David was one of those rare academics who seemed to lack an ego.”

A memorial for Taras was held on Monday, June 13, at Beth Tzedec Synagogue.

A scholarship, the David Taras Graduate Award, has been established in honour of Taras’s distinguished career as a scholar of Canadian identity, communications and politics. The scholarship recognizes students from the Faculty of Arts whose research investigates issues related to these themes. Once total contributions reach $25,000, an endowment fund will be created. The university is responsible for the management of the fund with the intent that enough income is generated to support the award and to maintain the fund’s real capital value, after inflation, in perpetuity. If the total amount received from all donors does not reach the endowment goal of $25,000 by Dec. 31, 2022, the funds will be utilized to fund the award on an annual basis until the funds are depleted.