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Dr. Sandra Kirby selected into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame

Dr. Sandra Kirby, ©Dan Harper

Dr. Sandra Kirby, ©Dan Harper

The University of Winnipeg congratulates Dr. Sandra Kirby, Professor Emerita, for her selection into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. She will be formally inducted at a ceremony on October 18 in Toronto.

Kirby, a former Olympic athlete with the Canadian rowing team, has dedicated much of her career to eradicating sexual harassment and abuse, homophobia, and violence against children in sport. Author of 11 books and numerous articles, she is a founding member of Safe Sport International and has worked with the International Olympic Committee on Child Protection in Sport, UNICEF, Status of Women Canada, the Manitoba Innovation Council, and the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity.

“As a champion for women, LGBTTQ*, and other marginalized communities in sport, it’s only fitting that Sandra Kirby takes her much-deserved place beside Canada’s greatest athletes,” said Dr. Annette Trimbee, President and Vice-Chancellor, UWinnipeg. “Sandra’s belief in the power of research as a means to expose injustice continues to be affirmed through the work of University of Winnipeg faculty, and we are incredibly proud of her selection into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.”

Kirby first joined UWinnipeg in 1989 as a member of the Sociology department, which she chaired for nine years. She also served on UWinnipeg’s Senate and Board of Regents, and in 2007 was appointed Associate Vice President, Research and Dean of Graduate Studies. In these roles she was instrumental in developing the first suite of stand-alone graduate programs at UWinnipeg. In 2014 she received the title of Professor Emerita.

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