Accession 2020-10 - Evelyn Jonescu

Evelyn (Ching) Jonescu was born on a farm in Alameda, Saskatchewan and recalls her father teaching her to read at a young age. Evelyn later attended the University of Saskatchewan with an entrance scholarship in 1948 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954, and a Bachelor of Education degree in 1962.

Jonescu taught in high schools for the Qu’Appelle Diocesan School for Girls in Regina, Markinch and in Cupar, Saskatchewan. In 1963 she began to pursue graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and obtained a Master’s degree in Botany there in 1966. She returned to Saskatchewan and began teaching at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus (fore-runner to the University of Regina) as an Assistant Professor while working on a Ph.D. from the University of Saskatchewan, which she obtained in 1974.

In 1975 Evelyn was appointed Director of the Canadian Plains Research Center and reappointed in 1981 for a 5-year term. She was chairperson of the Environmental Advisory Council for Saskatchewan and in 1976 was appointed to the Social Science Research Council’s Committee on the Human Environment.

Throughout a very long career with the University of Regina, Jonescu presented papers, led seminars and served on committees while working in areas involving the land’s natural resources and other environmental issues. She was recognized with meritorious certificates in 1978, 1981, and 1983. In 1985 she left the Canadian Plains Research Centre to work in the Faculty of Education as part of the Saskatchewan Instructional Development and Research Unit. Jonescu retired from University life in June 1989, becoming Professor Emeritus in 1991. In 1995 Evelyn was awarded a certificate of appreciation from the Community Health Division of the Regina Health District and in 2000 retired from the Board of Governors of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, where she had been a Fellow of the Society for many years. Still giving back to her community and to the University of Regina, Evelyn supports the University’s College Avenue Renewal Project and is a lifetime-member of the University of ReginaAcademic and Administrative PensionersAssociation (URAAPA).