About
Biography
Dr. Patrick T. Maher is a Full Professor of Physical and Health Education at Nipissing University. He is an interdisciplinary scholar, who has previously held full-time appointments at Cape Breton University, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the University of Otago.
Pat was the inaugural Dean of Teaching at NU (2019-2024) and has also held Visiting Scholar positions at Trent University, Bishop’s University, the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Southern Denmark University, the University Centre of the Westfjords (Iceland), Vancouver Island University, the University of Edinburgh, and Cambridge University. He has also collaborated extensively with colleagues across the University of the Arctic network, as former Associate Dean of Circumpolar Studies (2013) and the lead for the Thematic Network on Northern Tourism (2012-present).
Pat has been named a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (2013), a 3M National Teaching Fellow (2014), and a Fellow of International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2020). He held a Commonwealth Scholarship in New Zealand for his doctoral research in Antarctica and was both a University Teaching Chair in Community-Engaged Teaching and Scholarship and a University Research Chair in the Social Sciences and Humanities during his tenure in Cape Breton. More recently, Pat was named in the inaugural cohort of Grímsson Fellows (2025), and as a UArctic x LRF Research Fellow (2024-2026).
Pat is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning and former editor of the Canadian Journal of Environmental Education (2017-2023), and the Journal of Experiential Education (2010-2016). He also sits on the Editorial Boards of the Leisure Studies, the Journal of Tourism Futures, the Journal of Arctic Tourism and Pathways: The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education.
Pat was the inaugural Dean of Teaching at NU (2019-2024) and has also held Visiting Scholar positions at Trent University, Bishop’s University, the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Southern Denmark University, the University Centre of the Westfjords (Iceland), Vancouver Island University, the University of Edinburgh, and Cambridge University. He has also collaborated extensively with colleagues across the University of the Arctic network, as former Associate Dean of Circumpolar Studies (2013) and the lead for the Thematic Network on Northern Tourism (2012-present).
Pat has been named a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (2013), a 3M National Teaching Fellow (2014), and a Fellow of International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2020). He held a Commonwealth Scholarship in New Zealand for his doctoral research in Antarctica and was both a University Teaching Chair in Community-Engaged Teaching and Scholarship and a University Research Chair in the Social Sciences and Humanities during his tenure in Cape Breton. More recently, Pat was named in the inaugural cohort of Grímsson Fellows (2025), and as a UArctic x LRF Research Fellow (2024-2026).
Pat is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning and former editor of the Canadian Journal of Environmental Education (2017-2023), and the Journal of Experiential Education (2010-2016). He also sits on the Editorial Boards of the Leisure Studies, the Journal of Tourism Futures, the Journal of Arctic Tourism and Pathways: The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education.
Positions
Full-time Faculty
Faculty of Education and Professional Studies - Schulich School of Education - Physical and Health Education
Graduate Program Faculty
Graduate Studies - Environmental Science/Studies, MESc/MES
Graduate Program Faculty
Graduate Studies - Kinesiology, MSc
Graduate Program Faculty
Graduate Studies - Master of Education
Graduate Program Faculty
Graduate Studies - PhD in Education (Educational Sustainability)
Education
BA, Lakehead University
HBOR, Lakehead University
PhD, Lincoln University
Research Interests / Areas
Pat’s research focuses on three overlapping areas:
- the meanings that people take from their experiences visiting remote/peripheral/Polar Regions;
- the pedagogical approaches, such as experiential learning, that help people create action from these experiences, and;
- the linkages to global sustainability challenges that result when people change their values and behaviours.
Past projects have been funded by agencies such as:
- The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
-
The Norwegian Research Council
-
The Dutch Research Council
-
The Canadian Rural Secretariat
- The Ministry of Environment (British Columbia)
- The Department of Economic Development and Transportation (Nunavut)
- The Ministry of Colleges and Universities (Ontario)
- The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- The Nordic Council of Ministers
- Antarctica New Zealand
- The Department of Conservation (New Zealand)
About
Publications
Selected recent publications include:
- Beames, S.K., & Maher, P.T. (Eds.). (2025). Routledge Handbook on mobile technology, social media and the outdoors. Routledge.
- Graci, S., Maher, P.T., & Washbrook, K. (2025). Social innovation in Indigenous tourism in Canada’s Northwest Territories. In A. Varnajot, M.Vereda, & D. Ioannides (Eds.). Polar tourism and communities: Experiences, knowledge building, challenges and opportunities. (pp. 154-163). CABI.
- Acai, A., Frake, M., Hamilton, M., Maher, P.T., Verwoord, R., & Woolmer, C. (2024). Seven guiding principles for building fellowship in SoTL. Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2024.3.16448
- Rushton, B., Lemieux, C.J., Scott, D.J., Halpenny, E.A, Tompkins, J., Jones, B., Plangger, F., Rubeling, D., Maher, P.T., Carruthers Den Hoed, D., Jakubec, S.L., Rettie, K., Mulrooney, D., Eagles, P., Bueddfield, J., Jacob, A.L., Hvenegaard, G., Joubert, B., Thomlinson, E., Pavelka, J., Rollins, R., Prince, S.A., & Steinberg, B. (2024). Future-proofing nature-based tourism in Canada: A horizon scan of emerging challenges. Current Issues in Tourism, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2024.2431526.
- Maher, P.T., & Hardy, A. (2024) “Justin Bieber posted it on IG, so why can’t I visit?”: The future of the Arctic tourist experience in times of social media and mobile technologies. In O. Rantala, & D.K. Müller (Eds.). A Research Agenda for Arctic Tourism (pp. 35-46). Edward Elgar.
- North, C., Hills, D., Maher, P., Farkić, J., Zeilmann, V., Waite, S., Takano, T., Prince, H., Pedersed Gurholt, K., Muthomi, N., Njenga, D., Karaka-Clarke, T., Houge Mackenzie, S., & French, G. (2023). The impact of artificial intelligence on adventure education and outdoor learning: International perspectives. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 24(1), 123-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2023.2248302.
- Maher, P.T., Jóhannesson, G.Þ., Kvidal-Røvik, T., Müller, D.K., & Rantala, O. (2022). Touring in the Arctic: Shades of grey towards a sustainable future. In D.C. Natcher & T. Koivurova (Eds). Renewable Economies in the Arctic. Milton Park, UK: Routledge.
- Jóhannesson, G.Þ., Welling, J., Müller, D.K., Lundmark, L., Nilsson, R.O., de la Barre, S., Granås, B., Rantala, O., Tervo-Kankare, K., & Maher, P.T. (2022). Arctic Tourism in Times of Change: Uncertain Futures – From Overtourism to Re-starting Tourism. TemaNord series. Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers.
- Graci, S., Maher, P.T., Peterson, B., Hardy, A., & Vaugeois, N. (2021). Thoughts from the think tank: Lessons learned from the sustainable Indigenous tourism symposium. Journal of Ecotourism, 20(2), 189-197. https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2019.1583754
- Hehir, C., Stewart, E.J., Maher, P.T., & Ribeiro, M.A. (2021). Evaluating the impact of a youth polar expedition alumni programme on post-trip pro-environmental behaviour: A community-engaged research approach. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(10), 1635-1654. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1863973