Dr. Rita Shelton Deverell reappointed as Chancellor

Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ont. – Dr. Rita Shelton Deverell will serve as Chancellor of Lakehead University for another three years. Dr. Deverell recently accepted the Board of Governors request for reappointment and will continue in the position of Chancellor until 2028.

“Within the last two years Lakehead has had a transition in leadership, President Dr. Gillian Siddall, Principal Dr. Linda Rodenburg and Board Chair Cathy Tuckwell, whom I wish to support with continuity from the symbolic position of Chancellor,” Dr. Deverell explains.

“We are in an era in which colleges and universities are under attack; diversity, equity, inclusion, and decolonization are under attack; Canada is under attack. I am a true believer in all of the just-named initiatives, and wish to continue to support Lakehead as an institution in ways that I can,” she says.

Dr. Deverell was appointed Chancellor in 2021 and has since served as an ambassador for the university, supporting and promoting the institution’s mission and values; representing Lakehead in outreach and philanthropic initiatives; and presiding over ceremonial and honorary functions, including convocation ceremonies.

While there were many significant moments in her first term, Dr. Deverell says two stand out amongst the rest. “The installation of President Siddall on Anemki Wajiw (Mount McKay), which spoke to the deep responsibilities of the university. And, the 2024 3MT/GRADFlix celebration for all Ontario universities, hosted on the Orillia Campus, where students brilliantly shared their solutions to real-world urgent problems.”

“As we look toward the next chapter in Lakehead’s history, we couldn’t be more pleased that Dr. Rita Shelton Deverell will continue in her capacity as ambassador of Lakehead University,” says Cathy Tuckwell, Chair of the Board of Governors. “When I reflect on the university’s values of access and inclusivity, Dr. Deverell personifies those values and we are privileged to have her continued support of our institutional mission.”

A scholar, broadcaster, television producer, journalist, and theatre artist, Chancellor Deverell is one of the first Black women in Canada to be a television host and a network executive, the first woman to lead a journalism program at a Canadian university, and a co-founder of Vision TV, the world's first multi-faith and multicultural network.

For her pioneering work in broadcasting, Chancellor Deverell was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2005. Her other distinguishing honours include two Gemini Awards; the Governor General's Performing Arts Lifetime Achievement Award for Broadcasting in 2022; being named the 2018 "Woman of the Year" by the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA); receiving the Black Women’s Civic Engagement Leadership Award; and being inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Hall of Fame in 2002.

“Rita has spent decades pushing boundaries, amplifying voices, and advocating for underrepresented groups,” explains Dr. Gillian Siddall, President and Vice-Chancellor. “I look forward to her continued guidance and perspective as we look to the future for Lakehead University and the communities that we serve.”