Frits Pannekoek AOE (born 1947) served as President of Athabasca University from 2005 to 2014. From 1998 to 2005 he was Director of Information Resources and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary. Prior to taking that position, he was director of Director of Historic Sites (1979 to 1998). Graduating from the University of Alberta in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and the Governor General’s Gold Medal, Pannekoek went on to get his Master of Arts from the same institution. This was followed by a doctorate in 1974 from Queen's University with a dissertation on Western Canadian history and Indigenous people.