THE SCOTTISH STUDIES FOUNDATION is a registered charitable organization dedicated to advancing the study of Scottish history and culture, including its many Canadian dimensions. In 2004 we endowed the landmark Scottish Studies Foundation Chair of Scottish Studies at the University of Guelph — the acclaimed academic centre in North America for research, graduate training, and teaching on Scottish history and culture. We also support students through Scottish Studies scholarships and sponsor conferences and cultural events. Please click here for information on how you can join our active community and support our cause.

Please note that our mailing address has been changed. See contact page for details.

The Centre for Scottish Studies at the University of Guelph invites you to attend the launch of Truth or Treason? Sources for the Study of the Jacobites, an exhibit of some of the University's outstanding array of Jacobite-related materials. Monday, April 3, from 3pm to 5pm. Details here.

In 2022, former publisher-turned-author Douglas Gibson (pictured above) donated the rights to have his latest book, GREAT SCOTS: Celebrating Canadian Writers with Links to Scotland, published by the Scottish Studies Foundation to be used as a fundraiser for the Scottish Studies program at the University of Guelph. We are excited to have received the first batch of books from the printer, all of which have been carefully inscribed by Doug. The book is full of fascinating anecdotes from Doug's research and his career in publishing. It features 35 writers with links to Scotland, from Sir Alexander Mackenzie to Joseph Boyden, and is illustrated by co-author Anthony Jenkins who served as editorial cartoonist, caricaturist and writer with the Globe and Mail for four decades. To obtain your copy of this captivating new book, click here.

Having completed the funding of the Digital Archive Room at the University of Guelph, our focus now shifts to the funding of in-course scholarships for Scottish Studies students. More information here.

On February 11, fellow board member, Dr. Kate Ashley (Acadia University), gave a talk based on her latest book: Robert Louis Stevenson and Nineteenth-Century French Literature Relations at the Fin de Siècle, which looks at French literature from Stevenson's perspective and at Stevenson from a French perspective. Details including a recording of the session can be accessed here.

We are delighted that Dr. Kevin James has been appointed to the position of Scottish Studies Foundation Chair and Director of the Centre for Scottish Studies in the Department of History at the University of Guelph, effective June 1, 2020. The position was endowed by the Scottish Studies Foundation in 2004. More information here.

Back issues of our newsletter have been posted here.


The Sept/Oct 2011 issue of History Scotland featured an article about the early days of the Foundation co-authored by SSF Directors, John B. McMillan and David Hunter. A transcript is available here.

On Saturday, January 14, 2023 Dr. Elizabeth Ewan presented A Brewing Storm: Alewives in sixteenth-century Inverness. This talk looks at the lives of the brewsters and alewives as they appeared in the surviving town court records of Inverness from 1556 to 1586, and examines what they can reveal more generally about women's contributions to urban society. Details including a recording of the session can be accessed here.

We are pleased to announce that a new award has been established in memory of Duncan Campbell—one of our longest serving board members. The Duncan Campbell Memorial Travel Grant is a graduate award for part-time or full-time students registered in a masters or doctoral program in the University of Guelph's Department of History and who are pursuing travel to Scotland for Scottish-related research. The award will provide students with $1,000 per year for five years. Details here.

A recording of the third in our 2022–2023 series of online Zoom Talks is now available. The talk took take place on Saturday, September 17, 2022,when Andrew Jones PhD presented The Revival of Evangelicalism — Mission and Piety in the Victorian Church of Scotland. Details here.