TST Board Chair Elizabeth Smyth Recipient of Prestigious International Award
The Toronto School of Theology (TST) offers our heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth Smyth, Chair of TST’s Board of Trustees, on being granted the History of Women Religious Significant Contribution Award.
The award was presented on June 11, 2026, by Dr. Catriona Delaney, Secretary of the History of Women Religious of Britain and Ireland (H-WRBI) at its annual conference, held at Queen Mary University of London. (Pictured: Dr. Delaney on the left; Dr. Smyth on the right.)
The citation accompanying the award noted that “Elizabeth has made a pioneering contribution to the study of women religious, particularly in Canada, and to our understanding of their work in education, health care, social service and pastoral ministry.”
It also noted that while the history of women religious remained “relatively underdeveloped” within academic scholarship, Dr. Smyth’s work “has shown that the history of women religious is central not only to religious history, but also to the histories of women, education, professional life, migration and ethnicity.”
TST Executive Director Darren Dias, OP, offered his congratulations on the award.
“We are delighted to see Dr. Smyth recognized in this way,” said Dr. Dias. “She has a remarkable academic profile, with an impressive body of research and teaching. We have been fortunate to benefit from her willingness to share her gifts and talents as a volunteer. This honour is well deserved.”
A graduate of McMaster University and the University of Toronto, Dr. Smyth is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning. She was appointed Full Professor in 2007 and served as the University of Toronto’s Vice Dean of the School of Graduate Studies from 2009 to 2018, retiring in 2020.
In 2016 she was awarded the Vivek Goel Faculty Citizenship Award by the University of Toronto, which recognizes a senior faculty member as an exemplary citizen who has served the university with distinction in multiple leadership capacities in diverse spheres over many years.
Dr. Smyth has published extensively on the role of women religious in education as well as on other topics relating to education, including the history of teacher training in Ontario. Publications include Changing Habits: Women Religious in Canada; Education, Identity and Women Religious, 1800-1950; Convents, Classrooms and Colleges, co-edited with Deirdre Rafferty; and Vatican II and Beyond: The Changing Mission and Identity of Canadian Women Religious, co-authored with Rosa Bruno-Jofré and Helen Macdonald.
With Professor Mark McGowan, she is currently co-editing a collection of essays analyzing The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loretto Sisters) in Canada 1847-2027.
Dr. Smyth is a Fellow of the University of St. Michael’s College, a TST member college, as well as a fellow of Massey College.
The (H-WRBI) is an international network that encourages research of women religious from medieval to current times and makes available materials to facilitate research.