Deborah Lynn MacLatchy (born 1964) is a Canadian ecotoxicologist and comparative endocrinologist. She is the seventh President and Vice-Chancellor of

Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...

, having formally led the International Office at the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...

. She also served as President and Council Member of the Canadian Society of Zoologists and Chair of the Science Directors of the

Canadian Rivers Institute The Canadian Rivers Institute (CRI) was founded in 2000 as a centre of excellence in river sciences and is based at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) on both the Fredericton and Saint John campuses. The mandate of the CRI is to conduct both mul ...

. In 2012, MacLatchy was recognized as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women in a Top 100 list compiled by the Women’s Executive Network.

Early life and education

MacLatchy was born in 1964, in

Wolfville Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. The town is a tourist destination d ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, Canada, to parents Cyrus and Ann. Her father was a physics professor at

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly Undergraduate education, undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some Postgraduate education, graduate programs at the master's level and one at the Doctorate, doctor ...

and her mother was a special education teacher. Cyrus was originally from

Preston, Ontario Preston is a community in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario. Prior to 1973 it was an independent town, incorporated in 1915, but amalgamation with the town of Hespeler, Ontario, the city of Galt, Onta ...

, where he met Ann before moving to New Brunswick to go to law school. While MacLatchy attended Acadia for her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(BSc) honours degree, she worked as a lifeguard and taught swimming at the university pool. Upon receiving her BSc degree, MacLatchy enrolled at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

for her doctoral degree in zoology. She focused on the minutiae of physical mechanisms, specifically, how thyroid hormones work in fish. MacLatchy later listed her undergraduate and doctoral professors as personal heroes or mentors during her scientific career, including Dan Toews, Geoff Eales, and Glen Van Der Kraak.

Career

University of New Brunswick

Upon completing her doctoral degree, she enrolled at the

University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...

for postdoctoral work and later joined the faculty at the

(UNB). During her early years at UNB, she helped establish the

(CRI) and was the recipient of a

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; , CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. NSERC directly funds university professors and students as ...

Synergy award for partnerships for her "collaborative work on the issue of endocrine disruption in aquatic environments caused by industrial contaminants." In 2003, she served as President and Council Member of the Canadian Society of Zoologists for one term.

Wilfrid Laurier University

MacLatchy eventually left UNB to become dean of the Faculty of Science at

(WLU) for a five-year term starting in 2007. She continued her ecology work started with the CRI at WLU and worked with fellow professors to identify endocrine disrupting substances contaminating watersheds and investigate the impact of environmental EDSs on hormonal systems in fish. The results were then used in the water and wastewater industry to lower the impact of pulp and paper mills and sewage treatment facilities on the environment. Following her first year in this role, she was appointed to the position of vice-president of academic and provost. In these positions, MacLatchy oversaw the development of a new strategic academic plan, the creation of a multi-campus governance framework, the launch of the Laurier Institute for Water Science, the start of the Laurier Centre for Women in Science, the creation and expansion of the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, and the development of a new institutional budget model. In 2012, MacLatchy was recognized as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women in a Top 100 list compiled by the Women’s Executive Network. As a result of her research, MacLatchy served as Chair of the Science Directors of the CRI and was the recipient of the 2015 Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada Recognition Award. On July 1, 2017, MacLatchy succeeded

Max Blouw Max Blouw (born 1951) was the president and vice-chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University. He was inducted into this position on September 1, 2007. After serving two 5 year terms, Blouw stepped down and was replaced by Deborah MacLatchy. Early l ...

as the seventh President and Vice-Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University. After a nine-month search process, her appointment was recommended unanimously by the university Senate and approved unanimously by the Board of Governors. During her first year as president, MacLatchy and Professor Nathan Rambukkana published letters of apology on November 21, 2017, in regards to how the university handled a complaint about a Lindsay Shepherd's choice of class material. In 2019, MacLatchy was appointed to serve as Co-Chair of the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:MacLatchy, Deborah Living people People from Kings County, Nova Scotia Academic staff of Wilfrid Laurier University Academic staff of the University of New Brunswick Canadian university and college chief executives Acadia University alumni University of Manitoba alumni 1964 births Presidents of the Canadian Society of Zoologists