Robert Mizzi
Hall of Fame Class of 2022
Through his outstanding contributions to adult education research and practice, Robert Mizzi has broken down barriers, provided solutions, and significantly changed the landscape of the adult and continuing education field. His tireless work and passion for adult and continuing education brings new meaning to the idea of learning. He has been an exceptional researcher in adult education and has led both national and international research projects in queer, community, and diversity education that have had an impact on many levels of the education sector. The dissemination of his work has influenced both graduate studies in adult education, educational administration, and teacher education programs across Canada and abroad.
At the forefront of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, two-spirit, or queer (LGBT2Q/“queer”) studies, transnationalism, and adult education, Mizzi researches how leaders, adult learners, and adult educators can include queer identities and knowledge in various educational contexts. He developed this expertise through his doctoral work at York University and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Postdoctoral Fellowship at Florida International University. He was awarded $400,000 in adjudicated research funding over the course of his career. The Canadian government recognized him as a “world-class researcher,” awarding him a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in 2020-2025 with an additional $600,000 investment in his research.
The author of five books, two journal special issues, and more than 200 publications and presentations, he has been cited more than 600 times. He is a co-editor of the 2020 Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education. He served as the president-elect (2017) and president (2018) of the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education. He also served as editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education (2019-2021). He also has been the Perspectives editor (Adult Education) for New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development (2014-2016).
Mizzi has been an international leader in his field. He was the professional development consultant for the Kosovo Educator Development Project during the post-conflict reconstruction of Kosovo in 2002-2004. This $14 million Canadian project reconstructed the Kosovar education system based on fair and democratic principles. He led the award-nominated youth programming and the minority teacher training program. An unwavering queer activist, Mizzi also built the capacity of the Kosovar LGBTQ community organization through facilitating research, training, and outreach projects. He then founded and directed Queer Peace International (QPI) (2005-2010), a Canada-based organization that built the capacities of LGBTQ community groups in non-Western countries. Under his leadership, QPI delivered essential training and resources to these community groups and established projects and partnerships with local and international NGOs across the globe.
Mizzi’s work reflects the concern adult education has with globalization, intersectionality, and migrancy. For his unique scholarship, he is a recipient of the prestigious Falconer Emerging Researcher Rh Award (Social Sciences) by the University of Manitoba and is a sought-after book contributor and keynote speaker among academic and community organizations, including the United Nations University for Peace (2019), South China Normal University (2018), the University of Malta (2016), and the University of São Paolo (2021).
At the University of Manitoba, Mizzi created a gender-sexuality alliance in the Faculty of Education. This group educated more than 300 teacher candidates on how to infuse sexual and gender diversity in their pedagogy. He has also consulted for the government of Manitoba and other governmental and community organizations on various gender and sexual diversity initiatives, including guidelines for including gender diverse and transgender students in schools and LGBT2Q young adult literature in school libraries.