If it weren’t for Fred Gilbert, Orillia likely wouldn’t have a Lakehead University campus.
Gilbert, who served as Lakehead’s president and vice-chancellor from 1998 to 2010, was “a gritty, determined figure with a real vision for a university in the community,” said Kim Fedderson, the founding dean and vice-provost of the local campus.
Gilbert died Nov. 2 at his home in Nova Scotia.
Speaking with OrilliaMatters, Fedderson reflected on Gilbert’s passion and tenacity.
“He was head-down, tireless, a juggernaut in moving that campus forward,” he said. “There were several moments when it could have gone south, but Fred wasn’t having any of it. If we hadn’t had someone like him behind it, it would not have succeeded.”
Orillia inspired Gilbert, Fedderson said, because of its commitment to bringing a university to town — an effort that dated back to the 1960s, when local residents tried to establish the Simcoe College.
“That formed the spirit of Lakehead Orillia from Day 1. It was part of his original vision,” Fedderson said, adding that community connection wasn’t as strong between Thunder Bay and the Lakehead campus there.
“The university didn’t see itself as a community presence, nor did the community, but Fred was very interested in what a university could do to build community.”
Even Fedderson acknowledged the community wasn’t his own main focus when he started at the Orillia campus. He was busy ensuring the proper programming was in place and the campus got off the ground.
It didn’t take long for Orillia and Lakehead to cozy up to one another, and now the university stands out for its community focus.
“It’s so uncharacteristic of Canadian universities to be that engaged in the community,” Fedderson said. “I was bowled over by the response from the community.”
He believes that will be a big part of Gilbert’s legacy in Orillia, and he told his friend as much in an email he sent to him two weeks before his death.
In his message to Gilbert, Fedderson, who was aware Gilbert didn’t have long to live, recalled a gathering at the Leacock Museum following Lakehead Orillia’s first convocation.
“You spoke last and talked about the relationship of communities and universities, and all the good that could come from their working closely together. That was (a) Road to Damascus moment for me and many of us in the room,” Fedderson wrote. “You offered this community the gift of a university and they took it and made it theirs. When I’m out and about, I overhear people here talk about ‘their’ university and I smile every time I hear this.”
Ron Stevens can also testify to Gilbert’s determination to establish a campus of which the community would be proud.
Stevens was Orillia’s mayor at the time and was among those trying to bring a university to Orillia. He established a mayor's task force populated by staff and community members to help with the effort. It was during a meeting with then-education minister Kathleen Wynne that she mentioned Lakehead during conversation.
“I turned to Robert Lamb (Orillia’s economic development manager at the time) and said, ‘Look. Let’s get on the phone and get a conversation started,’” Stevens said.
The following week, he was on a flight to Thunder Bay to meet with Gilbert.
The Lakehead president had his sights set on the sprawling Huronia Regional Centre property, seeing it as an ideal location for a campus.
“Unfortunately, the Ontario Realty Corporation wouldn’t go for it at all and just screwed us around for two years,” Stevens said.
It was a nerve-racking two years. Patience was wearing thin at Lakehead and there were concerns the university would pull the plug on its Orillia plans. Stevens wasn’t ready to give up, and he quickly learned Gilbert felt the same.
During another visit to Thunder Bay, Stevens suggested the campus be built on property in west Orillia.
“He wasn’t sounding too optimistic,” Stevens said.
However, the next day, after Gilbert met with Lakehead’s board of governors, Stevens got a call.
“‘Ron, we’ve got a deal. Let’s go,’” he recalled Gilbert saying.
Like Fedderson, Stevens sees Lakehead’s connection to the community as Gilbert’s lasting legacy here, aside from the campus itself.
“That enthusiasm is still there,” he said. “It’s a beautiful campus and they have great students, and it all goes back to Fred. I can’t say enough good about him. His passing is a huge loss for the education world.”
Gilbert had an assisted death after battling lymphoma and terminal metastatic pancreatic cancer. He was 79.
