Dr. Jeyaratnam Wilson

Education, South Asian, Education, Politics and Law

Dr. Jeyaratnam Wilson (1928-2000) was a professor of political science at the University of New Brunswick (U.N.B.) from 1972 until his retirement in 1994. He earned his doctorate at the London School of Economics in England in 1956. Dr. Wilson came to Canada from his native Sri Lanka and was appointed Chair of the department of political science upon his arrival at U.N.B.

Dr. Wilson was a prolific writer and researcher. He wrote or edited 13 books on the policies of South and Southeast Asia, most notably on those of Sri Lanka. He also published over 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals.

The respect accorded to Dr. Wilson bestowed many high-profile responsibilities on him. Arguably, the most important of these was the significant role he played in the authorship of the Sri Lankan Constitution that was in effect from 1978-1989.

Dr. J, as his colleagues called him, always put his all into departmental responsibilities despite his gargantuan workload. He was passionate about seeing his students succeed, and thus every student who needed it received his undivided attention.

Dr. Wilson was a proud father to Malliha, Maithili and Kumanan, and a devoted husband to his wife Susili. The loving nature that Dr. Wilson exuded in all facets of his life served as a model that his friends, family, colleagues and students tried to emulate.