TRU invites the community to an evening of personal and professional stories from two women who are leading equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives in Canada’s post-secondary landscape.
Acclaimed scholars Dr. Malinda S. Smith and Dr. Dru Marshall sit down for a fireside chat with TRU Provost and Vice-President Academic Dr. Gillian Balfour at TRU’s third annual Women in Leadership event.
Join us on Tuesday, Sept. 24, for a candid conversation with these influential women about their leadership experiences, challenges and successes.
Free on-site childcare will be provided by the Cariboo Childcare Society.
The Women in Leadership series is co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism.
Seating is limited at this free event. Doors open at 5 p.m., event starts at 5:30 p.m.
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Dr. Dru Marshall completed a 10-year term as provost and vice-president academic at the University of Calgary in 2021. She recently started a leadership consulting company, working with post-secondary institutions in North America. A nationally recognized academic leader with over 30 years of post-secondary sector experience, Marshall also had a significant career in high performance sport, coaching both the junior and senior Canadian women’s national field hockey teams. That experience has shaped her executive leadership style, as a strong team leader, team builder and mentor. She has been recognized as one of Canada’s WXN Top 100 most powerful women, and as one of the most influential women in sport in Canada by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sport and Physical Activity.
Dr. Malinda S. Smith is the inaugural vice-provost and associate vice-president research (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) at the University of Calgary, and professor of political science. With over three decades of post-secondary leadership, research, teaching, service and community engagement in EDI, Smith has acquired a deep knowledge of systemic and holistic approaches and challenges to sustainable transformation. Her work has advanced evidence-based and policy-relevant actions and meaningful engagement. Smith is the author of The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities and Nuances of Blackness in the Canadian Academy. Her awards include the Susan S. Northcutt Award from the International Studies Association Women’s Caucus in 2020, an honorary doctorate from SFU in 2021, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Calgary Black Chambers in 2023.
