FEATURE F

Deeply Rooted Water, history and culture shaped Deborah MacLatchy, Laurier’s incoming president

By Rose Simone PHOTOGRAPHY • ALISHA TOWNSEND t was almost inevitable that Deborah MacLatchy would have a bred–in– the–bone love of history and water, growing up in Wolfville, N.S., a community that dates back to the Imid-1700s and is situated near the Bay of Fundy and the Minas Basin. The tides run high there. “I had a deep sense of the water being such an important part of our ecosystem,” MacLatchy says of her childhood, when she was fascinated by fish and kept an aquarium. But she also

MAY I JUNE 2017 GRAND 41 breathed the rich Acadian history sur- president in Canada. ogy of fish in her graduate studies at the my skills being reasonably portable, we Natural Sciences and Engineering Research becomes president. rounding her. When she began university, cademia has always been a strong . She focused on the decided that we would follow the opportu- Council of Canada award recognized her “I am still driven by curiosity and trying she was torn between studying history and part of MacLatchy’s life, as central minutiae of physical mechanisms, specifi- nities for her career,” he says. successes in fostering partnerships that to get answers to questions,” she says. “It is pursuing her interest in the biology of fish. Aas her affinity to water. Her father, cally, how thyroid hormones work in fish. Coming to was, in any case, a help remediate the environmental effects of also important to remain grounded in what The fish won and took her on a journey Cy, a physics professor at Acadia Univer- As she began her post-doctoral work, the bit of a coming home for Campbell, 60, pulp-mill effluents. She is a founding fellow makes universities important institutions into scientific research. That led her to sity, and her mother, Ann, a teacher and phenomenon of endocrine disruption was who is now retired. “I went to school in and past chair of the science directors of the and to stay tied to the reasons that you are Waterloo, nowhere near the ocean, but with English major, encouraged all three of an emerging area of important environmen- Oakville so I have friends in southern Canadian Rivers Institute and co-lead of the at the university in the first place. another asset, Wilfrid Laurier University, their daughters to pursue as eclectic an tal research. Ontario,” he says. ecotoxicology node of the Southern Ontario “It allows you to lead while you are which offered her a position as dean of education as possible. While in Winnipeg, she met her partner, This region is also rooted in MacLatchy’s Water Consortium. She helped launch the walking.” science in 2007. “They encouraged us to study everything. Bill Campbell. He was a copy writer for family history, through her grandparents on Laurier Institute for Water Science. While continuing her research in eco- We took a mix of sciences and languages, an ad agency when he met her through her father’s side. Her father was originally “Sometimes in history you are at the right acLatchy will most likely be leading toxicology and comparative endocrinology, English, history, math and all the rest of it,” mutual friends, and was instantly drawn from the Preston part of Cambridge, where place at the right time and, for me, that was Laurier into the completion of the she rose quickly through the administra- MacLatchy says. All three are highly accom- to a woman he saw as both beautiful and his mother, a Shantz, met and married the area of endocrine disruption and eco- Mlong-sought-after goal of expanding tive ranks at Laurier. Two years after her plished. As Deborah, the eldest, becomes intelligent. They moved together, first to MacLatchy’s grandfather, who had moved to toxicology in the early 1990s when I was Laurier’s multi-campus presence in Ontario. arrival, she was promoted to vice-president a university president, one younger sister, Guelph, where she had a postdoctoral Ontario from New Brunswick to go to law developing my career,” she says. “We were There is already a campus in Brantford but, academic and provost. MacLatchy, 52, is Laura, is an anthropologist and professor at position and then to the University of New school. MacLatchy’s grandparents retired then realizing that sewage treatment plants, for years, Laurier has been working with being promoted again, to the top position, the University of Michigan, and the other, Brunswick where she was offered a tenure in Waterloo and when they were alive she pulp mills and oil refinery industries were the Town of Milton and other public and as president and vice-chancellor of Laurier. Heather, is a clinical psychologist in Nova track position. She was a dean of science would make trips here to visit them. putting contaminants into the environment private-sector partners to develop plans When she starts her new job in July, Scotia. there when Laurier drew her back to It wasn’t long before MacLatchy became that were directly affecting fish via their for a campus in Milton. That is now much succeeding , who is finishing After getting a science degree at Acadia, Ontario a decade ago. a much-cited expert in her field. She has endocrine pathways.” closer to reality. his second five-year term, she will be one Deborah MacLatchy went on to pursue Campbell switched to freelance advertis- been published in more than 80 peer- She hopes to continue working with She has led initiatives such as guiding of the very few women to be a university her passion for understanding the physiol- ing work after they left Winnipeg. “With reviewed publications and, in 2005, a the young scientists in her lab after she a new academic plan and new budget

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42 GRAND MAY I JUNE 2017 MAY I JUNE 2017 GRAND 43 model. “There is no denying that we are in Moreover, MacLatchy believes women and engineering, there are challenges to ships. “When I talk to alumni from the ’60s long,” MacLatchy says. Letting that light remnants of wanting to be a history major,” a challenging funding environment,” she need to step up to the plate of leadership overcome, MacLatchy says. “It’s not related and ’70s, all the way through to today, they shine through will be a big part of her job says MacLatchy, who was recently “totally says. But she adds that the challenge can be at universities. “It’s important that women to whether young women can do the talk about interactions they had with faculty as president. immersed” in reading “Barkskins,” the latest met by continuing to grow the university’s who are qualified for these jobs not only science. It’s more about the environment and staff, and the lifelong friendships they It is also a university that complements novel by Pulitzer-prize winning author graduate studies, attracting students who step up to do them, but are supported by in which the science is being done. That is made,” MacLatchy says. She wants that to the talent emerging from the University of Annie Proulx. It couples historical fiction are a good fit, and finding ways to connect university communities to be successful in something we still need to work on.” continue in the decades to come. Waterloo just down the street, she adds. with environmental sensibility in a tale set potential donors to programs they can feel these roles.” MacLatchy says one of her priorities as MacLatchy also hopes to expand oppor- Laurier’s business graduates have been in late 17th century Canada, when two good about supporting. MacLatchy is the second female president president will be to find ways that Laurier, tunities for Laurier’s students to study and crucial in seeding the region’s ecosystem of penniless young Frenchmen arrive in what The movement from research to increas- in Laurier’s long history. The other was especially with its campus in Brantford work abroad and for students from around high-tech startups. was then New France to become wood- ingly responsible positions in university in the 1990s. which is not far from Six Nations, can the world to come to the campuses here. “We really do talk about Waterloo Region cutters, or barkskins. It is a tale of souls administration “was a natural progression Only about 20 per cent of Canadian respond to the recommendations for “We live in a globalized world and I think as an ecosystem and for me, as a biologist, wounded by the destruction of a forest and for a woman with her talents,” Campbell universities are led by women. universities outlined in the federal Truth it is critical that Canadians experience other that really means something,” she says. caught between the native and European says. “She is very competent, intelligent and In Ontario, out of 21 universities, there and Reconciliation Commission report. cultures, either in the classroom in interac- “The whole is greater than the sum of its cultures. so she had the research and teaching but are female presidents at Algoma (Celia She sees strength of character in a univer- tions with people from diverse groups or in parts.” Environmental, cultural and historical she had these other options as well.” Ross), Carleton (Roseann O’Reilly Runte) sity that manages to balance liberal arts and travelling abroad and having those experi- sensibility will be desperately needed in MacLatchy says she accepted the position and OCAD (Sara Diamond). On the same science along with professional programs, ences,” MacLatchy says. oth MacLatchy and Campbell love tomorrow’s world as well. MacLatchy sees as president because of a “deep resonance” day MacLatchy becomes president, Rhonda such as those at the Lazaridis School of Laurier has a number of niche strengths, animals. Their household includes Laurier playing a crucial role in fostering for the institution and its values. Lenton will take over the top job at York. Business and Economics. It is also affiliated in social work, music and music therapy, Bfish, cats and dogs. Campbell enjoys that holistic understanding and knowledge “I want to help Laurier be the best it MacLatchy is also a champion of women with the Balsillie School of International cognitive neuroscience, cold regions taking the two dogs, a Labrashepherd (Lab- in future leaders. can be going forward. Being president in the sciences, believing strongly that Affairs, which focuses on international research, water science, as well as entrepre- Shepherd mix) and a Chocolate Lab, out for “That will be central to us going forward,” allows me to do that in a different way, by diversity is needed to foster a wider scope governance. neurship, and sustainability in business. frequent walks. she says. “With so many polarizing telling our story to government, to alumni, of ideas and innovation. More women are Laurier has expanded a lot over the years, “There are so many things that Laurier Besides having an affinity for animals, pressures on us globally, this will be critical potential donors and potential students who now going into a range of scientific fields, and now has some 19,000 students, but does. I feel we have been very humble and MacLatchy also still loves history and in ensuring that we have the Canada that will become the future alumni,” she says. but in sciences such as physics, math prides itself in fostering tight-knit relation- have hid our light under a bushel for too historical novels. “That’s one of the we want, 10, 20 or 30 years from now.”

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