Factoids
Growing Local Economies
Lakehead President & Vice-Chancellor Dr. Gillian Siddall (left) with VP Research and Innovation Dr. Andrew P. Dean and Innovation Development Director Ellen MacKay at the APLU ceremony.
Lakehead became only the second university in Canada to receive the Innovation & Economic Prosperity (IEP) University designation. Awarded by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), this designation recognizes North American public research universities working with public and private sector partners in their cities, states, provinces, and regions to support economic development through activities such as innovation and entrepreneurship, community development, technology transfer, and talent and workforce development. “We’re pleased to recognize Lakehead University for its commitment to engaging its community around these issues to advance regional economic development,” said APLU President Mark Becker. Institutions with an IEP designation often have even greater success fostering economic growth.
Orillia’s Woman of the Year
Lakehead Orillia Principal Dr. Linda Rodenburg was given the 2024 Nelle Carter Woman of the Year award by the Orillia Business Women’s Association (OBWA) for her progressive approach to community building and community partnerships, including strengthening connections with Rama Mnjikaning First Nation, the City of Orillia, the County of Simcoe, Orillia Soldiers Memorial Hospital, and Georgian College. In support of Dr. Rodenburg’s nomination, Lakehead Orillia Principal Emeritus Dr. Kim Fedderson said, “Not only is her heart in the right place, she has, in the 18 years she has lived here, demonstrated her commitment as an ever-present volunteer, educator, activist, and visionary.” Dr. Rodenburg was named principal in August 2024. She is also a Lakehead alum.
Reclaiming Indigenous Languages
Four Lakehead researchers and their community partners received Lakehead's 2023 Indigenous Research Partnership Award for their creation of the book series Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Īthiniwak—part of the ongoing work of reclaiming Indigenous languages, histories, and knowledges among the Asiniskaw Īthiniwak (Rocky Cree) people. The award was given to anthropology researchers Dr. Scott Hamilton (second from left), Dr. Jill Taylor-Hollings (third from left), and Clarence Surette, and to Knowledge Keeper William Dumas. Dumas is the main author of this cycle of historical picture books set during the proto-contact period of the mid-1600s. The Six Seasons project also includes a series of digital picture book apps that invite players to actively engage in the Rocky Cree world and curriculum guides that support the use of both books and apps in classrooms.
Supporting Northern Farmers
The Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station (LUARS), led by Dr. Tarlok Sahota, is helping farmers in northern Ontario thrive after the governments of Canada and Ontario committed up to $1.65 million to the research station. This multi-year funding announced in November 2023 is being made available through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) and will support LUARS research programming, knowledge transfer, and operations and management. In particular, the funding will be used to improve the viability and yield of crops in northern Ontario, develop and diversify the agricultural industry, and position it for continued growth. Some of the areas the research will focus on including best management practices for northern agriculture and soil health.
South Simcoe Innovation Week
The Town of Innisfil and Lakehead University hosted the first-ever South Simcoe Innovation Week in the spring of 2024 to bring together entrepreneurial thinkers for business and innovation-oriented workshops and events. Participants were introduced to Lakehead business experts and resources such as Ingenuity—Lakehead's business accelerator. “Our community is fortunate to have world-class postsecondary partners, like Lakehead, who are able to educate and empower business leaders to innovate within their own organizations,” Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin said. The Innovation Week was offered in partnership with Nottawasaga Futures, the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, and the County of Simcoe, and was partly funded by the County of Simcoe Entrepreneurial Innovation Fund.
Housing Built for Extreme Weather
Civil engineering PhD student Tristen Brown received a prestigious $150,000 Vanier Scholarship in September 2023 for his research seeking housing solutions for Indigenous communities across Canada that have to cope with extreme climactic conditions, such as high winds and severe cold, as well as housing shortages. “I’m truly humbled and excited for all the new opportunities this scholarship will bring,” Tristen said. “I am more than thrilled to compile research related to my own Indigenous culture. I know the research and novel solutions will make an immediate impact on the current challenges that Indigenous communities face.” His research is part of an innovative modular home design research project led by Lakehead Civil Engineering professor Dr. Ahmed Elshaer and his Structural and Wind Engineering Research Laboratory (SWERL).
Cleaning up Lake Superior
Lakehead received $230,000 from the federal government to restore coastal and riparian habitats for fish and wildlife in the Thunder Bay Area of Concern and to build features that filter stormwater before it reaches Lake Superior. Lakehead also received $108,500 to implement the Thunder Bay Area of Concern Wildlife Habitat Strategy and to facilitate community engagement. Lakehead Geography and Environment professor Dr. Robert Stewart explained that “the Thunder Bay Area of Concern is embarking on a decadal restoration strategy that integrates wildlife habitat and ecological service restoration into waterfront redevelopment and public access. We are hoping this initiative and capacity is only the beginning of a culture of restoration on the Big Lake and the final stages required to delist Thunder Bay as an Area of Concern.”
Teaching Decolonial Global Citizenship
Education professor Dr. Gary Pluim is leading a research project focused on developing a collaborative experience to teach critical, decolonial global citizenship to Canadian and Ethiopian education students. “Research and policy suggest that teachers—including student teachers at university—need to develop a more critical, global lens when it comes to education,” Dr. Pluim said. “Despite our increasingly global world, educating teachers is mostly done at the national or even provincial/state levels. The technologies that were advanced during the pandemic are now helping us to bridge international gaps and re-imagine what it means to educate for global citizenship.” As part of the study, researchers ask how global citizenship can be taught in ways that embrace complex global histories to foster peace and greater equity.
Outdoor Recreation Opportunities for Everyone
Aseel Hashim, a Master of Public Health student and a health sciences graduate research assistant, founded BIPOC Outdoor Adventures at Lakehead University in 2024 with a $5,500 grant from the Thunder Bay Community Foundation. The program’s goal is to improve access to outdoor recreation for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) students who face systemic barriers, such as racism and socioeconomic status, to being in nature. Aseel’s vision is to break down these barriers, foster a sense of community, and create a space where every student feels empowered to explore the outdoors. The program was inspired by the BIPOC Outdoor Gear Library in Guelph, which allows members to borrow items such as camping equipment, skis, and snowshoes. “I saw and experienced firsthand the difference this program made,” Aseel said.
Climate Change Education for Teachers
Education professor and researcher Dr. Ellen Field is leading an exciting project to support and accelerate the integration of climate change education into teacher education programs across Canada. Dr. Field received $449,000 from Environment Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to lead this two-year project in partnership with Dr. Hilary Inwood from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. “Our research has shown that there is a clear need to support teachers with climate change education and resources,” Dr. Field said. “Doing so will ensure that teachers entering K-12 classrooms have a solid understanding of climate change, as well as how to teach this content in effective, justice-oriented, and experiential ways.” The project will include a national climate change education e-course and a national roundtable.
Improving Culturally Safe Dementia Care for Indigenous Peoples
Master of Clinical Psychology student Brittany Skov received an inaugural Personnel Award for Indigenous Scholars in 2024 as part of an initiative to increase the number of highly qualified trainees from Indigenous communities working in heart and/or brain research. The award was given by Heart & Stroke, along with Brain Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health. Brittany’s master’s thesis, in partnership with Dilico Anishinabek Family Care, is investigating how to improve culturally safe dementia prevention, assessment, and post-diagnosis care for older adults in northwestern Ontario. In the future, Brittany hopes to become a clinical health psychologist specializing in Indigenous community-based research so that she can help overcome health disparities in First Nations communities.
Improving Community EDI Initiatives
Media, Film, and Communications Studies professor Dr. Sandra Jeppeson received a Research Excellence Award at Lakehead’s 2023 Research and Innovation Week for her Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) research, in particular, her work leading an international team that’s building capacity around EDI practices. “Our objective is to understand the deep EDI capacity and experience of small community organizations working across issues of race, gender, and LGBTQ+ as well as rurality, immigration, and age,” Dr. Jeppesen said, “and then make this experience available to larger organizations to support, improve, and amplify their on-going EDI efforts, which will have profound impacts across Canada and globally." The research team received a $448,376 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant for this project.