Patricia Fitzpatrick, BA, MNRM, PhD
Dr. Patricia Fitzpatrick has made significant contributions to environmental, social, and economic sustainability at The University of Winnipeg and within the wider community. Her work over the last 20 years has focused on better environmental governance surrounding large-scale development in Canada.
She is an expert in environmental assessment and has been involved in reviews of Manitoba’s hog industry, the Keeyask hydroelectric project, and Manitoba Hydro’s Bipole III Transmission Line, among others.
Between 2010 and 2014, Fitzpatrick undertook a federally-funded research program in government and voluntary mining sustainability policies in Canada and Brazil. The purpose of this work was to explore how to foster community resilience in single-industry mining locales.
She has published extensively on the topic of good environmental planning and has participated as an expert witness in many regulatory proceedings — including, most recently, as a panelist for the federal government’s environmental assessment processes review. By providing her expert opinion on large-scale projects, Fitzpatrick assists in making Canada a more sustainable place to live.
An advocate for knowledge mobilization and public participation, she has increased public understanding of her field through several creative campaigns. Her Legitimacy Project aims to improve the effectiveness and transparency of environmental assessment and governance. The project has been successful in engaging the public through a series of online videos titled “Let’s Talk EA.”
At UWinnipeg, she has provided invaluable mentorship and support to undergraduate and graduate students in the geography and environmental science departments. Fitzpatrick does an exemplary job of getting students involved in the community, and provides many opportunities for students to participate in sustainability-driven research.
>She has helped raise the University’s reputation as a leader in sustainability on the provincial, national, and international stage through her involvement in high-profile conferences and her partnerships with other sustainability-minded researchers around the world.
For her commitment to environmental governance, sustainability, and public participation, The University of Winnipeg is proud to present Dr. Patricia Fitzpatrick with the 2017 Campus Sustainability Recognition Award.