Janet Werker is the recipient of a national honour: an appointment to the Order of Canada.
Dr. Janet Werker, a psychology professor in the department of psychology at UBC, was named Officer of the Order of Canada. This is one of 125 new appointments announced today by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette.
“I’m deeply honoured to receive this recognition from my adopted country and I’m particularly moved that it was my colleagues at my home institution, UBC, who nominated me,” says Werker, Canada Research Chair and University Killam Professor in Psychology. “I will embrace the award on behalf of all the outstanding women and men who have received it before me and who will receive it in the years to come.”
The appointment recognizes Dr. Werker’s internationally renowned contributions to our understanding of speech perception and language acquisition in infants. One of the world’s leading developmental psychologists, she has influenced child development, parenting, education and clinical practice, both in Canada and around the world. Dr. Werker has shown through her research that the foundations of language begin in early infancy, and that the acquisition of two or more languages from birth comes as naturally as learning a single mother tongue.
Dr. Werker is one of the founders and co-chair of the UBC-wide Language Sciences initiative and director of UBC’s Infant Studies Centre.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Werker on this honour!
About the Order of Canada
Created in 1967, the Order of Canada, one of our country’s highest civilian honours, recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. Close to 7 000 people from all sectors of society have been invested into the Order. Their contributions are varied, yet they have all enriched the lives of others and have taken to heart the motto of the Order: DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM (“They desire a better country”). Appointments are made by the governor general on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada.
Read the Governor General of Canada’s announcement.
