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Deceased LU prof behind major city initiatives

Moving major community projects forward was a key interest of Laurentian University professor Derek Wilkinson, who passed away recently.
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Recently deceased Laurentian University sociology professor Derek Wilkinson was an academic but he also was also a people person and strategist-he was vital in asking the right questions when strategies were developed and putting people together to make it happen, said his colleagues in the community. Supplied photo.

Moving major community projects forward was a key interest of Laurentian University professor Derek Wilkinson, who passed away recently.

His colleagues at Laurentian said Wilkinson was key in making the necessary connections in the community to make projects happen, once he was convinced of their merit.

“He knew who to talk to,” said economics professor and colleague David Robinson.

He had an impact on the local, regional and national scene, said Robinson.

The 63-year-old acting dean of social sciences and humanities and sociology professor, was found dead at his home Tues, Oct. 13, said his son Dana Wilkinson.

“He was late for a lunch appointment (at the university). It was suspected he had a heart attack,” said Dana, a software engineer now working in California.

Funeral services were held at St. Andrews United Church downtown the following weekend.

His son said his dad had a profound influence on his own life and career.

“My dad was keen to encourage me to learn. He introduced me to new things such as mathematics and science. I got a bit of my math skills from dad, though I think he was better at it,” he said.

Dana Wilkinson said he also got his love of books from his dad.

“Dad had thousands of books. He had 300 to 400 (volumes) just on writing. He also had a whole bookshelf of dictionaries,” he said as he chuckled.

Wilkinson was committed to the creation of a sustainable society and economy for northern Ontario, said Robinson, who worked with Wilkinson for 20 years. They both worked on the eight year Elliot Lake Tracking Study, which followed workers who were laid off when the community's uranium mines closed in the 1990s.

The study had national policy implications, he added, in terms of recommendations for laid off workers.

Wilkinson was known as the top statistical survey researcher in northern Ontario, said Robinson.

“He lent credibility to anything he was involved in.”

But he had a profound local impact as well, stressed Robinson.

It was Wilkinson who made the person to person connection that resulted in the concept of the mining and supply service cluster becoming well known, he said.

“After the city amalgamated, Derek and I organized the New City Colloquium that brought together university faculty and city staff, such as city planning staff Bill Lautenbach, Carlos Salizar and Tin Chee, as well as Paul Reid (city business development officer). I had the idea to do this, but it was Derek who could get the people together.”

Robinson said this exchange of knowledge resulted in the realization of just how powerful and important the mining cluster of small and medium sized companies were to the economic health of the city.

Kate Bowman, Northern Ontario School of Architecture (NOSOA) project manager, said Wilkinson was one of the founding members of NOSOA.

“He really pushed hard for the school. He saw it as important to the development of the downtown,” said Bowman.

“Derek was on the board (of NOSOA) and the steering committee until his passing. He had a strong belief in the good of the project. He was a key strategist for it.”

Robinson said though he and his daughter Kirsten originally came up with the idea for the school of architecture, it was in fact Wilkinson that was the key player initially.

“At first, Derek said 'Why do it?' Once convinced though, he supported it in so many ways so consistently.”

Robinson said at the time, the president of the university was only lukewarm to the idea.

“Derek was on the Laurentian University Board of Governors as a senate representative.”

That made all the difference, noted Robinson.

In the community, Wilkinson helped Robinson pull together members of the community to support the project, such as Janet Gasparini, executive director of the Social Planning Council, and architect Blaine Nicholls.

“Derek knew them both. After all, he was a founding member of the Social Planning Council (on the initial steering committee). He understood the magical combination of people in the community to make it (the architecture school project) work.”

Gasparini said Wilkinson will be sorely missed at the meeting tables around the community.

“Derek served on our board until last year. He was quiet and unassuming. But just as we thought we would be well advanced in our plans (for dealing with some issue) he would ask the what if question. Have you considering bringing the views of students or business people (to this issue)? Then we would realize that we had more to do,” said Gasparini.

“The impact of his passing will be felt in this community for a long time,” she added.



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