Teaching, research and service are at the heart of the academic vocation.

For UNBC Conservation Science and Practice Professor Dr. Pamela Wright, that means creating engaging educational opportunities for students to learn and apply their knowledge. It also means conducting innovative research to identify the important places for conserving biodiversity in the north and on the impact recreational activities have on our land, air and water. Furthermore, it means collaborating with organizations large and small committed to discovering sustainable solutions.   

Wright’s work in all these areas is celebrated with the 2020 Mitacs Award for Outstanding Leadership – Professor. Presented by Mitacs, a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada for business and academia, the award is given to an academic supervisor with an exemplary record of developing collaborations with industry and other partners, providing valuable research and training experiences to their interns and initiating research projects with significant outcomes through their Mitacs funding.

“I have been fortunate to develop partnerships with outstanding organizations who are not only committed to investing in research, but also sharing their knowledge and experience when they host our students and post-doctoral researchers,” Wright says. “These agencies not only supervise the students, but they teach them, learn from them and work alongside them.”

Wright has collaborated with a diverse group of not-for-profit agencies across northern B.C, including the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, the Wells Barkerville Community Forest and Chu Chu Environmental LLP. In each case, Wright and her students worked with the partners to develop a research program, answer questions and help the organizations meet their sustainability goals.

The partnerships also give students meaningful opportunities to work on real-world applications of their research and see the results. The students developed new skills working with the organizations to help prepare them for their careers.

Wright is one of eight recipients of Mitacs awards this year. The ceremony was held online on Nov. 24.