Awarded annually to one or two undergraduate or graduate students from the Inuit community. Eligible recipients will be either entering or proceeding from one year to the next in a program at Carleton University. The Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs will award to selected graduate recipients. Preference will be given to Inuit students undertaking scholarly or research work of benefit, either in the present or the future, to Inuit communities in the Canadian Arctic (Nunavut) and including Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories and Quebec. Endowed in 2004 by Gordon Robertson, C.C.

Gordon Robertson, had an illustrious career with the Canadian government. Over the course of thirty-eight years, he served in a variety of capacities including Deputy Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources, Clerk of the Privy Council and Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. Tributes to his public service include the Vanier Medal, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Mr. Robertson’s association with Carleton began in the early 1960s when he was appointed a member of the Board of Governors (1962-1971). In 1980, he became Carleton’s fifth Chancellor, a position he held until 1990. In that year he received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University and in 1992 was named the University’s first Chancellor Emeritus. To recognize his outstanding contributions to Carleton, Robertson Hall, the main administration building on campus was named in his honour.

In the spirit of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we wish to acknowledge and honour the Inuit of Canada. With the gracious support of the Robertson family, Carleton renamed its main administrative building to acknowledge and honour Inuit and to further commit to the recommendations of the Kinàmàgawin Report. Following a thorough engagement process with the Inuit Advisory Council and Inuit in the region and in the North, Carleton named this building Pigiarvik (pronounced pee-ghee-awe-vik), which translates to “a place to begin” or “the starting place”.