Lakehead University honoured two local professors for the work they have done to improve people’s lives.
The second day of the Lakehead University Research and Innovation week took place at the Intercity Shopping Centre. Hundreds walking through the mall stopped and looked at the various displays and research projects that faculty and students had worked on.
But two projects were given a distinct mention at the opening ceremonies on Saturday. The university honoured Mary Lou Kelley and Chris Southcott, both from Thunder Bay, for their research.
Kelley’s research focused on providing better end-of-life care for individuals and families in rural and remote areas while Southcott’s research focused on social, economic and environmental sustainability for communities in the Canadian Arctic and circumpolar regions.
Both researchers said they were honoured to have been recognized for the work they have done.
Kelley, a professor in the social workers program, said she approached her project in a practical way in order to make a difference that mattered to people.
“With the aging population worldwide, the work I’m doing around end-of-life care is very timely and important internationally,” Kelley said.
Part of her work involved First Nation communities. Often those remote communities had to transfer the elderly to hospitals or facilities that were far from their homes.
She said they are working with partners to ensure that they can stay where they are and get the same kind of treatments available in bigger urban centres.
“We’re really building on what exists,” she said. “We’re bringing them all together, the local health care providers, chief and council, to form a palliative care team. Then we’re doing need assessments with them on what kind of information they need and resources and then systemically creating those resources so they can take better care of their community members.”
Southcott, a professor in the sociology program, said his project is looking to see what worked for northern communities who benefited from resource development and apply those practices to communities that haven’t developed as well.
He said it’s important to look into this because some of the biggest social and economic problems happen in northern communities even though they produce a lot of wealth.
“It’s kind of paradoxical,” Southcott said. “They have so much wealth but so many problems and so much poverty. Very few of the wealth produced stays in these communities. I think people in the south should care because they have to face the reality that they share nations with people in the north. If something isn’t done then we’re going to have continuous problems with these communities and they are going to pay for it anyway.”
He added he would like additional funding to look into the development of the Ring of Fire and how that has impacted communities.
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