Wilhelm Eduard Nassau

Dr. Wilhelm “Willi” Nassau was born in Austria, where he studied fine arts and photography. He worked on various feature film projects in Austria prior to immigrating to Canada in 1959. Here, Willi worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the CTV network.

In 1969, Willi became the founding director of Audio-Visual Resources at Waterloo Lutheran University, now Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU). He taught media related courses at the university and was a co-founder of TELECOLLEGE, one of the first applications of television used in distance education.

Willi was also a key person in the production of WLU’s promotional 16mm film I Chose Laurier, which won a silver medal at the International Film and Television Festival of New York in 1978.

In addition, Willi created a vast collection of historic photographic and technical media equipment, including 500 cameras, while at WLU. The collection is now shared by Ingenium (former Canada Science and Technology Museum), Ryerson University, and Niagara College.

Willi has been an enthusiastic member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, the Society of Film and Television Engineers, and a charter member of the Photographic Historical Society of Canada.

In honour of the outstanding contributions he has made to WLU and the wider community over more than 60 years, Willi was awarded an honorary doctorate from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1991.

Photo courtesy of Photographic Historical Society of Canada/Robert E. Lansdale