Shelley Gavigan, professor emerita, senior scholar, former associate dean and a long-serving and respected member of Osgoode Hall Law School and the York University community, died April 20.
When Gavigan was growing up, her parents were told she wasn't "university material." She proved otherwise.
Shelley Gavigan
She earned degrees from the University of Saskatchewan (BA, LLB), the University of Toronto (MA, SJD) and Osgoode Hall Law School (LLM), where she became an influential teacher, scholar and administrator at York University.
Gavigan joined York and Osgoode in the 1980s after practising criminal defence for First Nations and Métis clients in Saskatchewan, working in community legal clinics and serving as the first director of complaints and compliance for the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.
Over the next three decades, she taught criminal, family and poverty law and was widely known for her commitment to legal education, social justice and feminist scholarship. She served twice as associate dean at Osgoode and held four terms as academic director of the Intensive Program in Poverty Law at Parkdale Community Legal Services.
Her research examined the intersection of law and social justice, with a focus on marginalized communities. Later in her career, she shifted to legal history and the criminalization of Indigenous Peoples. That shift led to a doctorate in legal history and her 2012 book Hunger, Horses, and Government Men: Criminal Law on the Aboriginal Plains, 1870-1905. The book received several awards, including the Canadian Historical Association's CLIO Prize for The Prairies, and earned honourable mentions for the CHA's best book in Canadian history and the Canadian Law & Society Association's Annual Book Prize.
After retiring, Gavigan continued to contribute to legal scholarship. Her work advanced understanding of Canada's legal past and reflected a sustained commitment to justice, equity and integrity. She left a lasting impression on students and colleagues, and helped shape the core values of Osgoode Hall Law School.
This story was originally featured in YFile, York University's community newsletter.
