Canadian Journal of Career Development Mourns the Loss of Founding & Chief Editor Dr. Rob Shea

It is with profound sadness that I write to inform our readers, authors, and reviewers of the sudden passing last week of our founding Editor and one of Canada’s foremost career development leaders, Dr. Robert (Rob) Shea.

Rob had been the driving force of the Journal since the vision to have a career development journal for Canada came to mind 24 years ago. His enthusiastic drive and determination created a partnership between Memorial University, CERIC, and The Counselling Foundation of Canada to develop, fund, and publish the Journal. Rob was overjoyed to see the first issue printed in January 2002. Over the past 22 years, with the assistance of many individuals, the Journal continued to grow, adapt, and expand to include international submissions, graduate student research briefs, and more.

“Just two weeks ago I informed Rob about the significant increase in Journal submissions over the past year. That the upcoming September 2024 issue had to be capped and is to be our biggest to date. The beaming smile that came over his face followed by “Brilliant!!” is something I will never forget. We then spent over another hour talking about the future of the Journal and where we envision it going.”

Rob envisioned a Journal that would be accessible to everyone, which is why it was created as open access from the start. Back in early 2000s this was uncommon. Yet, by 2024, open access journals have become commonplace and are even demanded by students and researchers globally. Rob took great pride in knowing that he helped lead the field when it came to open access journals and proving the benefits of such.

“Rob had big dreams for the Journal’s future & it will be challenging to step up to make sure his dreams come to fruition. The Journal will not end with Rob’s passing but will continue and become another torch to his memory.”

Those in the career development community are remembering Rob as a transformational leader, a gifted storyteller, and a positive force. An award-winning researcher, he was passionate about students and career development and an inspirational mentor to countless colleagues. Rob has influenced generations of graduate students and contributed his talents to support multiple associations in the career development sector and beyond. His peers are left to reflect on the huge hole he leaves in many hearts and his tremendous legacy in the career development field.  

I extend my deepest condolences to Rob’s family, friends, and colleagues around the world. His remarkable life, contributions to the career development field, and future plans for the Canadian Journal of Career Development will continue to be honoured and showcased over the coming months.

 

Diana Boyd
Associate Editor

Canadian Journal of Career Development