Walter Pitman

Walter George Pitman (1929–2018) was a Canadian educator, politician, public administrator, journalist, social activist, and author whose work joined public service with sustained advocacy for education and the arts. Born in Toronto, he earned BA and MA degrees at the University of Toronto before beginning his career as a secondary-school teacher.

Pitman represented Peterborough in the House of Commons from 1960 to 1962 and in Ontario’s Legislative Assembly from 1967 to 1971. He subsequently held major educational and cultural leadership roles: Dean of Arts and Science at Trent University, president of Ryerson Polytechnic Institute, executive director of the Ontario Arts Council, and director of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. His public work also extended to journalism, voluntary organizations, civil liberties, environmental issues, and arts education.

As an author, Pitman wrote cultural biographies based on extensive research and interviews. The catalogued Louis Applebaum, published in 2002, examines the Canadian composer and cultural administrator Louis Applebaum and the institutions with which Applebaum was associated. Pitman was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1992 and made a Member of the Order of Ontario. His papers, documenting his careers in politics, education, writing, and social activism, are preserved in York University’s Walter Pitman fonds.