Ken Coates is currently the Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan. Prior to this, he was the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo. He earlier held posts as the Dean of the College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, Dean of Arts, University of New Brunswick at Saint John, Chair of History, University of Waikato (New Zealand) and Vice-President (Academic), University of Northern British Columbia. Previous to assuming administrative responsibilities, he was a professor of history at the University of Victoria and Brandon University.
Coates earned his BA from the University of British Columbia. He earned his MA from the University of Manitoba, and returned to the University of British Columbia to complete his PhD.
He has won a variety of awards for his historical scholarship, including recognition from the Manitoba Historical Society, the B.C. Historical Association and the Yukon Museums and Historical Association. His co-authored book, Arctic Front: Defending Canada in the Far North, won the 2009 Donner Prize for the best book in Canadian public policy. His 2011 book Campus Confidential, written with W.R. Morrison, generated considerable discussion about the challenges currently facing the Canadian university system.
Ken is married, with five children and 5 (soon to be 6) grandchildren. He was raised in the Yukon Territory and retains strong connections to the North. While in Waterloo, he was actively involved with a variety of cultural and commercial organization and played a key role in the development of the University of Waterloo digital media campus in Stratford, Ontario.
He supports his wife’s charity, the Vietnam Education Society , which builds schools for communities in rural Vietnam.