Fonds F19 - Charles A. Roberts fonds

Charles Augustus Roberts, commonly known as Charlie Roberts, was born on 31 Mar. 1918 in St. John's, Newfoundland. He attended public school, high school, the Prince of Wales College, and Memorial University in St. John's before moving to Halifax to attend Dalhousie University. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree and medical degree from Dalhousie in 1940 and 1943 respectively. Dr. Roberts also served with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC) in Canada and overseas from 1941 to 1945 as a psychiatrist-in-training. Part of his wartime training was completed at the Toronto General Hospital. Dr. Roberts was on the reserve list of the RCAMC from 1945 to 1965. After the Second World War, Dr. Roberts was appointed as Superintendent of the Hospital for Nervous and Mental Diseases (1945-1950) and Superintendent of St. John's General Hospital (1950-1951) in St. John's, Newfoundland. After Dr. Roberts obtained his Certification in Psychiatry from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1951, he left Newfoundland for Ottawa, where he was employed as Chief of the Mental Health Division of the Department of National Health and Welfare (1951-1957). He was also the Principal Medical Officer for Health Insurance in the Department of National Health and Welfare from 1955 to 1957. In addition to advising on mental health issues, Dr. Roberts was involved with developing new and innovative health programs across Canada as well as helping to ensure that that provinces and universities were able to secure federal mental health grants for the proper training of mental health professionals. In addition, during this time period Dr. Roberts served as Consultant to the Pan American Bureau of the Regional Office of the World Health Organization and completed several studies with respect to the state of mental health services in Jamaica and Mexico (1958-1960). He also continued his professional education by obtaining a Diploma in Hospital Organization and Management from the Canadian Hospital Association (1957) and Certification in Mental Hospital Administration from the American Psychiatric Association (1961). Leaving Ottawa, Dr. Roberts became the Medical Superintendent of Verdun Protestant Hospital (1957-1963) and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University (1957-64) in Montreal, Quebec. He became involved with civil service work again as a Consultant to the Director of Psychiatric Services, Ministry of Health, Province of Quebec (1963-1966). He also was promoted to Executive Director of Verdun Protestant Hospital (1963-1964) and was a Lecturer in the Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy at McGill University (1957-1964) in addition to his aforementioned professorship in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Roberts moved to Toronto in 1965, taking the position of Director of the Toronto Psychiatric Hospital (1965-1966) and the position of the first Executive Director of the new Clarke Institute of Psychiatry (1966-1969). While in Toronto, Dr. Roberts held several teaching posts at the University of Toronto, specifically as an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry (1965-1969) and as an Associate Professor in the School of Hygiene (1965-1969). Returning to Ottawa in 1969, Dr. Roberts was appointed as Psychiatrist-in-Chief of the Royal Ottawa hospital (1969-1974). He also held several appointments at the University of Ottawa, specifically as Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and as a Professor in that same department (1969-1974). Subsequently, from 1974-1981, Dr. Roberts was a Professor in the School of Health Administration in the Faculty of Management Sciences at the University of Ottawa. In addition, Dr. Roberts served as an Honorary Consultant (1970-1981) and General Consultant (1985-[before 1996]) to the Ottawa General Hospital, as a Sandoz Visiting Professor (1971-1972), as a Consultant to the Ottawa Civic Hospital (1969-1981), as a Consultant to the National Defence Medical Centre (1971-1984), as a Consultant to the Royal Ottawa Hospital (1974-1981), as a Consultant to the Queensway-Carleton Hospital (1975-[ca. 1984]), and as an Honorary Consultant to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (1977-[ca. 1984]). Moving to South-western Ontario, Charlie Roberts held an academic appointment as a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario (1983-1987). He was also a Staff Psychiatrist at the Homewood Sanatorium in Guelph, Ontario (1981-1985) and became an Honorary Member of Medical Staff there in 1985. Dr. Roberts was appointed as a Professor Emeritus at the University of Ottawa in 1985. In addition to his professional posts, Dr. Roberts was involved with numerous committees and professional associations throughout his career. Some highlights include his Chairmanship of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health to the Minister of National Health and Welfare (1951-1957), his membership on the Canadian Mental Health Association's "More for the Mind" Committee (1954-1963), his Presidency of the Quebec Psychiatric Association (1960-1962), his Chairmanship of the Scientific Planning Council of the Canadian Mental Health Association (1962-1965), his Presidency of the Canadian Psychiatric Association (1964-1965), his Chairmanship of the Canadian Council of Hospital Accreditation (1971-1972), and his Editorship of the Canadian Psychiatric Association Bulletin (1976-1980). Dr. Roberts became a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association in 1955. In addition, he was an Honorary Member of the Quebec Psychiatric Association (1967) and the Canadian Psychiatric Association (1970), and he became a Senior Member of the Canadian Medical Association in 1985. Further, he held memberships with the American College of Hospital Administrators, the Canadian Council of Health Service Executives, the Ontario Medical Association, the Ontario Psychiatric Association, the American Public Health Association, the American College of Psychoanalysts, the Ontario Public Health Administration Association, the Canadian Public Health Association, and the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society. Dr. Roberts authored numerous publications throughout his career and was the recipient of several awards for his professional contributions, specifically a Centennial Medal (1967), a National Award from the Canadian Mental Health Association (1973), and a Queen's Silver Jubilee Award (1977). Charlie enjoyed playing bridge with his wife Alice in his spare time. He died on 13 Nov. 1996 from a chronic lung condition.