Dr. Wade Davis is a professor of anthropology and the LEEF chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. Between 1999 and 2013 he served as explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society and is currently a member of the NG Council of Explorers. Named by the NGS as one of the Explorers for the Millennium, he has been described as "a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life's diversity." Dr. Davis's work as an anthropologist and botanical explorer has taken him throughout the world from the forests of the Amazon to the mountains of Tibet, from the high Arctic to the deserts of Africa, from Polynesia to the grasslands of Mongolia.

Dr. Davis is the author of 17 bestselling books including The Serpent and the Rainbow, which was later released as a feature film, and Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest, which won the 2012 Samuel Johnson Prize, the top literary award for nonfiction in the English language. Davis has written for National Geographic, Newsweek, Outside, Harpers, Fortune, Condé Nast Traveler, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, and many other international publications.

His many film credits include Light at the Edge of the World, an eight-hour documentary series produced and written for the National Geographic, Grand Canyon Adventure (IMAX 3D), and Earthguide, a 13-part series on the environment produced and written for Discovery. As a photographer, Dr. Davis has curated several major exhibits including The Lost Amazon, Museum of Natural History Smithsonian, and No Strangers: Ancient Wisdom in a Modern World, Annenberg Space for Photography. His own work has been widely published and exhibited.

A professional speaker for 25 years, Dr. Davis has lectured at more than 200 universities and spoken before a wide range of corporate clients such as Microsoft, Shell, Fidelity, Bayer, Bristol-Myers, Hallmark, Bank of Nova Scotia, MacKenzie Financials, and many others. His five TED talks have been seen by millions of viewers. In 2009 he delivered the CBC Massey Lectures.

Dr. Davis is the recipient of numerous awards, including several honorary degrees, the Gold Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, the Explorer's Medal, The Lowell Thomas Medal, the David Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration and the $125,000 Lannan Foundation Prize for Nonfiction.

"In Trent's best interdisciplinary tradition, Dr. Davis spans the worlds of natural science, social science and the humanities. He is passionate about conveying knowledge and wisdom through the arts. His fusion of environmental, Indigenous and social concerns resonates deeply at Trent." -- nominator, anonymous

"It is a very special honour indeed to be recognized in this way by Trent University. Over the years I have been fortunate to speak on campus on a number of occasions and I have always come away inspired by students and faculty alike," Dr. Davis said. "To be acknowledged by the University in the very year that sees me and my family returning to Canada to live after two decades abroad is as good a welcome home as I could have ever hoped for."