2025 Alumni Association AGM

Event Date: 
Monday, September 15, 2025 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm EDT
Event Location: 
Online
Event Contact Name: 
Anna Sampson
Event Contact E-mail: 

Join us at this year’s Lakehead University Alumni Association Annual General Meeting! It’s a chance to come together as part of the Lakehead family, reflect on the highlights of the past year, and look ahead to the exciting things to come in 2025/2026.

This year, we’re especially thrilled to welcome Bob McDonald as our guest speaker. You may know him as the award-winning radio and TV personality behind Quirks & Quarks, or as the author who brings science to life in ways that are fun and accessible. Bob was also recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Lakehead University, making this conversation even more special for our alumni community.

Whether you’ve attended our AGM before or it’s your first time, this is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with Lakehead, hear meaningful updates, and be inspired by Bob’s unique perspective.

To register: https://lakeheadu.zoom.us/meeting/register/0ivSjYBoQY29T_dnd2srqQ

International Day of Peace Event by Gender and Women’s Studies, Social Justice Studies and Mendlife Canada

Event Date: 
Friday, September 19, 2025 - 1:00pm to 4:00pm EDT
Event Location: 
FB 2023 (Thunder Bay); OA 3041 (Orillia); Zoom (Registration Required)
Event Contact Name: 
Mohit Dudeja
Event Contact E-mail: 

Join Lakehead University and Mendlife Canada for a hybrid International Day of Peace event on September 19, 2025 (1–4 PM), featuring student-led performances, spoken-word presentations, and a documentary exploring gender, climate justice, and peace. Participate on campus in Thunder Bay or Orillia, or online via Zoom.

Celebrate the International Day of Peace with Lakehead University!

The Department of Gender and Women's Studies, in collaboration with the Social Justice Studies Program and Mendlife Canada (a local nonprofit), invites the Lakehead University community to a hybrid International Day of Peace event on September 19, 2025, from 1 to 4 p.m. The event will be held at both the Thunder Bay and Orillia campuses, as well as via Zoom. This engaging program will feature a documentary from the Gender and Climate Activism course, led by Mohit Dudeja (Contract Lecturer) during Summer 2025, alongside presentations from students across the Faculty of Education, Social Justice Studies, Gender & Women’s Studies, and the Department of English.

Highlights of the event include:

  • A Drag Performance on Queer Joy
  • A presentation on female Holocaust victims’ atrocity photographs, exploring memory, gendered experiences of war, and questions of peace, nonviolence, and ethics of representation
  • A spoken-word performance of “Perform”, reflecting on societal pressures on women to suppress authenticity
  • A spoken-word presentation on climate justice as a human right, emphasizing global inequalities, legal frameworks, and the links between climate action, health, and human rights
  • A short film “Choose Peace”, exploring how digital media can promote peace, empathy, and unity

Event locations:

MSc Thesis Proposal - Biology: Amy Klassen

Event Date: 
Tuesday, September 23, 2025 - 10:00am to 12:00pm EDT
Event Location: 
CB 4058 & Zoom
Event Contact Name: 
Heather Suslyk
Event Contact E-mail: 

Title: "Eastern Gray Treefrog (Dryophytes versicolor) range edge expansion effects on calling plasticity and behaviour of boreal anurans"

Supervisory Committee:
Dr. Adam Algar (Supervisor)
Dr. Mike Rennie
Dr. Stephanie Rivest

Please join Amy in CB 4058 or contact Heather at biology@lakeheadu.ca for the Zoom link.

Research Centre for Sustainable Communities Speaker Series: Dr. Farhan Samir

Event Date: 
Wednesday, September 24, 2025 - 2:30pm to 4:00pm EDT
Event Location: 
OA 1025
Event Contact Name: 
Dr. Rosario Turvey
Event Contact E-mail: 

Dr. Farhan Samir

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Computer Science, University of Toronto

"Epistemic Injustice on Online Knowledge Repositories: Case Studies in Multi-lingual Wikipedia and Canadian News Coverage of Police Use-of-Force Incidents"

Everyone is welcome.

Research Centre for Sustainable Communities (RCSC) Speaker Series: Dr. Glenda T. Bonifacio

Event Date: 
Wednesday, September 17, 2025 - 2:30pm to 4:00pm EDT
Event Location: 
OA 1025
Event Contact Name: 
Dr. Rosario Turvey
Event Contact E-mail: 

Dr. Glenda T. Bonifacio

Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

"Gender, Migration and Disasters: Transnational Connections and Community Resilience in the Philippines"

Everyone is welcome.

Ian Tamblyn in Concert

Event Date: 
Friday, September 19, 2025 - 7:00pm to 10:00pm EDT
Event Location: 
Bora Laskin Education Auditorium

Sleeping Giant Folk Music Society presents Ian Tamblyn in concert at the Bora Laskin Education Auditorium on Friday September 19th. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40 and are available at www.sleepinggiant.ca.

Ian Tamblyn was born in Fort William, Ontario in 1947 and is the son of Lakehead's first President William Tamblyn. He has been playing music and writing plays since the age of seventeen. Ian has recorded 45 albums, CDs and cassettes as well as producing albums for over 30 other artists. His songs have been covered by over 40 artists and his song “Woodsmoke and Oranges’ has been presented by close to 100 choirs in North America and Europe.

Ian Tamblyn has won several awards for his work including a Juno award and nomination, songwriting awards and nominations from the Canadian Folk Music Awards as well awards and nominations for his theatre and film soundtracks. He holds an honourary doctorate from Lakehead University, a distinguished alumni award from Trent University, and is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. In 2021, Ian Tamblyn was selected as an Officer of the Order of Canada by Governor General Mary Simon.

County of Simcoe Familiarization Tour

Event Date: 
Friday, October 3, 2025 - 8:15am to 5:30pm EDT
Event Location: 
Pick up at University Ave to visit various locations in Simcoe County
Event Contact Name: 
Katie Stevenson
Event Contact E-mail: 

Lakehead students who are new to Central Ontario are invited to take a free tour of local services, including stops to learn more about local employment and recreational opportunities in the County of Simcoe.

Students who wish to join us will need to secure their seat by RSVP'ing - via County of Simcoe website using the link below. Please note: in addition to completing the RSVP form, students make a $5.00 donation to the Lakehead food panty. Secure your spot by bringing your donation to Katie S. after you complete the online form.

The tour details may change closer to the date, but current plans include three stops, with lunch included.

First stop: The tour is going to start with a tour of the County of Simcoe Administration Building. This part of a previous tour was very well received by students and county staff, so we plan on building on that success.

Second stop: After leaving the County building the tour will make its way to Wasaga Beach for presentation and tour of the beach front.

Third stop: Town of Collingwood for an employers panel presentation and walking tour of the Downtown

Timing: Pick up will begin in Orillia at approximately 8:15 a.m. with stops at Lakehead University, Georgian Orillia Campus, and Georgian Barrie Campus. Students will be returned to their respective campus between 4:45 and 5:30 p.m.

Space is limited, register today! https://workinsimcoecounty.ca/simcoe-county-familiarization-tours/

PhD Dissertation Proposal Defense - Psychology: Abbey Radford

Event Date: 
Thursday, October 9, 2025 - 1:00pm to 4:00pm EDT
Event Location: 
Zoom or UC 1001 (Senate Chambers)
Event Contact Name: 
Kelsey Mullin
Event Contact E-mail: 

Please join us for Abbey Radford's PhD dissertation proposal defense. This is a hybrid defense, should you wish to attend in person it will take place in the Senate Chambers (UC 1001).

Title: The Protective Role of Cultural Connectedness and Resilience in Mitigating Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and PTSD Among a Substance Use Treatment Seeking Indigenous Population

Supervisor: Dr. Christopher Mushquash

Second Reader: Dr. Dwight Mazmanian

GSC Chair: Dr. Rupert Klein

Please contact admin.psych@lakeheadu.ca for Zoom link and passcode

The (anti-)fascist game + Billionaires and Guillotines - Dr. Max Haiven presents a book and a game

Event Date: 
Thursday, September 11, 2025 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm EDT
Event Location: 
The Study
Event Contact Name: 
Max Haiven
Event Contact E-mail: 

Dr. Max Haiven, Canada Research Chair in the Radical Imagination, will present two aspects of his ongoing research and public outreach program on Monday, September 8, from 3-5pm at The Study on Lakehead's Thunder Bay campus.

From 3-4pm, Haiven will present an overview of his next book (under contract with MIT Press) The Player and the Played: From Gamified Capitalism to 21st Century Fascism.

From 4-5pm, Haiven will present (and there will be an opportunity to play) Billionaires and Guillotines, a satirical board game about the consequences of wealth inequality and plutocracy.

Everyone is welcome to either or both events, which are casual. Light refreshments will be served.

This event is supported by RiVAL: The ReImagining Value Action Lab, the Social Justice Studies program and others.

Final PhD Dissertation Defense - Psychology: Kristy Kowatch

Event Date: 
Friday, October 17, 2025 - 9:30am to 11:30am EDT
Event Location: 
Zoom only
Event Contact Name: 
Kelsey Mullin
Event Contact E-mail: 

Please join us for Kristy Kowatch's Final PhD Dissertation Defense. This is a virtual defense.

Title: Development and evaluation of a culturally integrated transdiagnostic group intervention for First Nations youth

Supervisor: Dr. Christopher Mushquash

Second Reader: Dr. Aislin Mushquash

Internal/External Reviewer: Dr. Amanda Maranzan

External Examiner: Dr. Jill Ehernreich-May

GSC Rep: Dr. Beth Visser

Please email admin.psych@lakeheadu.ca for Zoom link and passcode

Pages