Appreciations
To add your appreciation of Kathleen to this page, please send it to Sarah Murdoch.
"What I remember most about Kathleen is her warmth, her smile, and her dedication to others’ success. She would smile even when things were tough, as they often were for her because of barriers she faced and the huge amount of responsibility she took on. She was unusual in focusing more on the academic community around her than her own career, which was still enviable. I am so appreciative of her, as a colleague and as someone who blazed a trail for feminist philosophers like me to succeed at Western."
Carolyn McLeod, Professor, Philosophy (Western)
"Kathleen Okruhlik (1951-2024) was an incredible woman, feminist, philosopher, friend, mentor, and leader with a huge heart and an incomparable sense of justice. She exuded integrity. I am one of many who are feeling completely crushed by the news of her passing.
Kathleen was the Department Chair when I started in Philosophy at Western in 1992. She has been my most significant role model throughout my career. She immediately introduced me to the Wednesday Feminist Lunches and Western’s Caucus on Women’s Issues, and invited me to walk alongside her at Take Back the Night. She taught me more than anyone else about what it means to be a good academic citizen. I absorbed much of Kathleen’s commitment to principle—both large and small. For example, back in 2003 when I became Acting Director of the Centre for Women’s Studies and Feminist Research, she taught me that one of the most important things about being a leader is to be present, in person, in your office. If you have staff who report to you and need to be in every day, you need to be in every day. This may seem like a small thing. But it was for me the beginning of developing a set of values specifically around how to lead and follow as part of a team, that has enriched my life in academia far more than what I’d have experienced if I’d limited myself only to teaching my classes and doing my research. Kathleen cared about people and she was a treasure to have in your corner.
I last saw Kathleen some months back at a lovely dinner at her place with Samantha (Brennan) and Andrea (Purvis). As always, Jim cooked and we ate and caught up. I’m grateful that we had that time, but it never feels like enough. As I was about to reach out to plan another visit (this time we would bring the food), the sad news from Jim arrived in my inbox.
This recording of her talk on Science and Values, delivered to Grade 11 students as part of Arts Day 2015, shows her at her most vibrant and brilliant best: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEnQgGi1JV8
I hope Kathleen had some inkling of the tremendously positive impact she had on me and so many others. I will miss her so much."
Tracy Isaacs, Professor, Philosophy (Western)
"Kathleen was a mentor, an ally, a role model, and a dear friend. She was the chair when I came to Western as a junior faculty member. Kathleen was the first woman to serve as Chair of the Philosophy Department, and I was the second. When I was Chair, Kathleen was Dean. We worked together in the Canadian Society for Women in Philosophy. We were members of the same feminist book group, Hags, for many years. Now, I’m Dean of Arts at Guelph, and I’m constantly reminded of the memories Kathleen shared about her time at Guelph, where she met her husband, Jim Brown. I love that Elizabeth, her daughter, returned to Guelph to study at the veterinary college. Our families overlapped, too. Her children babysat our children. We have home videos of them giving Pippin, the pet pigeon, a bath.
Kathleen was my most significant influence in deciding to take on the roles of philosophy department chair and, later, dean of arts. She made these jobs seem fun, meaningful, and rewarding. I think it was Kathleen who first told me that universities need to be run by faculty, and if we don’t take on that work, non-academics will be hired to take it on, and we won’t like it. I still think that’s true. Kathleen persuaded me that feminists must work inside our universities and professional associations to make change happen.
Kathleen was also the only colleague I could get advice from about combining parenthood and an academic career. When I arrived at Western, I told her that she was somewhat of a legend for having children while being a faculty member (in the pre-parental leave days) and that people told this ridiculous story of her giving birth and then coming back to campus to proctor her exam. She said, “Well, that’s not true. I had a nap first.” Kathleen paved the way for me to be a parent and a philosopher. Colleagues used to joke when her children were small that she was turning the department into “a goddamn daycare.” So, by the time I arrived, the jokes were stale.
The other area of life I learned a lot from Kathleen, and to whose standards I can still only aspire, is graduate supervision. Her students have excelled and thrived in Philosophy, and they’re everywhere. She threw her heart into supervision and invested in the students' projects, lives, and futures. It seems like there's a veritable army of Kathleen's students out there across Canadian philosophy departments, and by and large, they’re carrying on Kathleen’s mission of combining feminist scholarship with academic service.
Kathleen was an important voice in feminist philosophy of science, a builder of academic communities and institutions (the Rotman Institute and Women’s Studies and Feminist Research at Western), a leader, and a friend. I will miss her very much."
Samantha Brennan, Dean, College of Arts and Humanities (Guelph)
"Kathleen was a major influence on me as an undergrad and graduate student at Western. I had her for four classes (including early modern and philosophy of science, which eventually became my two main research areas). She was chair of the department by the time I was a senior, and her encouragement was a prime reason I went to grad school. She became dean while I was in grad school at Western, though she still occasionally supervised dissertations--including mine. The department, college, and her students all thrived under her stewardship. She had an amazing ability to be kind and warm while still being absolutely rigorous and firm, supportive while suffering no fools. And I never knew anyone who had longer hair or drank more Diet Coke. I miss her."
Bill Vanderburgh (PhD 2001), Professor of Philosophy at California State University, San Bernardino
"I greatly admired Kathleen for her conviction and her ability to recruit people to deserving causes. My favourite memory of her was a fiery speech she delivered at the University Senate, given in opposition to a proposal that sought to sacrifice Western’s practice of offering strictly secular academic programs on Main Campus in exchange for sizable financial contribution. Kathleen gave a compelling and rousing address that motivated colleagues to reject the motion. This exemplified her character as a woman of principle and integrity, not merely talking about high ethical standards but living them as well. It is a shame to be deprived of someone of her calibre so soon."
Arzie Chant, Undergraduate Academic Program Coordinator (Western)
"I was a grad student at UWO’s philosophy department from 2009 to 2015. I took a philosophy of science class with Professor Okruhlik. At the time, I was considering dropping out of the PhD program as I was quite shy and insecure. I was usually very quiet during seminars and I felt self-conscious about this. I remember meeting with Kathleen in her office on one occasion and I opened up to her about all of this. There are few conversations from my time as a grad student that stand out to me now, but this is one of them (I even remember our matching bottles of Diet Coke!). She was so kind and encouraging. I remember saying something along the lines of, “When I was a grad student, I never said a damned word!” She reassured me that it was OK, and that I belonged there just as much as anyone else. I’ve always been grateful for that conversation. (And I did go on to complete the program!) I’m so sorry to hear of her passing, and my thoughts are with her family, friends, and colleagues."
Melissa MacAulay (PhD, Philosophy, Western)
"I am so very sad to hear about Kathleen's death. Kathleen exemplified good leadership, good followership, and the importance of integrity and sticking by your guns even when your views are unpopular. She stood up to philosophers of science in the 1980s who dismissed feminist work (even thought at the time she wasn't working on it) and she is rumored to have gone to early feminist philosophy conferences with a t-shirt saying something like, "Logo-centric and proud". She is why the constitution for CSWIP is an amended version of the constitution for CSHPS (why re-invent the wheel?). Kathleen was both incredibly kind and terrifying (in that way that intelligent people who consistenly have smart, insightful and even-handed criticisms are). I will remember her carefully taking me through what was wrong with my dissertation chapters (I not infrequently went to the washroom and cried after our meetings); marching with her at Take Back the Night, International Women's Day, and anti-war protests; her giving Jim a hard time about his Platonism; and her talking about her dog, Peanut, and her pigeon, Pippin. I am so fortunate and proud to have been one of Kathleen Okruhlik's students. (And Cate Hundleby would I'm sure say the same if she could.)"
Letitia Meynell (PhD, Philosophy, Western), Professor, Philosophy (Dalhousie)
"Over the weekend I got the sad news that Kathleen Okruhlik passed away. It’s taken a few days for me to process the news in reflecting on the significant impact she has had on me developing into the philosopher I am. My first interaction with Kathleen was through the lens of representation. The first time I met (well, was in the same room with) Kathleen she was the PSA Women’s Caucus chair. I remember her in her long skirt and gorgeous long greying hair. It was the 2010 PSA in Montreal, and my first philosophy conference ever. I remember being very nervous and in awe of all the women in this room, wondering if I would ever be good enough to be there. I remember thinking of her when thinking of what it might look like for me to grow older in philosophy too. I think about this memory also a lot when discussing issues of representation in philosophy, and how critical it is to have students able to see people like themselves in the field.
I also had the privilege of having her as an extraordinary teacher. In grad school, I took her history of philosophy of science seminar. I loved listening to her lectures because she had lived through so much of the history itself. And because of that it was like no class I had ever taken. I was incredibly nervous to take her class because I knew it was going to be graded by exam, not paper, and I had an academic history of struggling with exams. I did not do well on the final in her class. She talked through with me how disappointed and sad she was that the low exam turned out to be mine, because of how my class participation did not reflect a similar performance (her seminar was also one of the few I would ever talk in). Because of the rigor and high standard she held students to, it was the kind of meeting that under some circumstances I would have been mortified to be in. But her rigor was always balanced with support and kindness. In giving me feedback, she focused on how to work to overcome the writing difficulties I was experiencing that were reflected in my exam, and that difficulties with writing are different from philosophical abilities.
But the most important thing Kathleen showed me and taught me is that someone could be a serious philosopher of science and a feminist. I also took her feminist philosophy of science seminar, which likely is the class that has had the largest impact on my philosophical development and methodology I use in my own philosophy. In this class I found the frameworks, tools, and words to describe the kind of philosophy of science I wanted to do. Again, I saw her teach the material she had lived through, a movement in philosophy she had deeply contributed to. I figured out how past experiences of my own made sense once I had the vocabulary and knowledge of feminist philosophy of science issues. The first grad seminar I got to teach as a full, real faculty member was Feminist Philosophy of Science, and I thought of Kathleen and that experience often.
She was the philosopher who let me know that this “weird” interest of mine in publicly engaged philosophy of science was actually a thing, and she was the first philosopher to really validate my interest in it. She let me know there was a group of philosophers, Joint Caucus of Socially Engaged Philosophers and Historians of Science (and I always heard her voice when I read “Joe-see-phas”). She always forwarded me emails about it, with an accompanying note about why I would like it based on whatever random last thing I had said to her.
As a committee member on my dissertation, she supported me through that last push. Her feedback let me to realize how much of my thinking would align with philosophers we just tend not to read when studying philosophy of physics, but were out there writing on similar themes, which gave me validation and confidence I needed. She printed off my entire dissertation and gave me line-by-line copy edits, and excellent comments, which I still keep in my own office today even because it reminds me of a kind of academic caring that I aspire towards as a faculty member myself. I will never forget how good and proud I felt when I sent her an email updating her on the job market and she sent me back “CONGRATULATIONS, MELISSA!!!!!!!!!!” in a funky purple font. And likewise how she always paired the academic with check-ins and well wishes on the personal fronts.
She is one of those people who has had an immense impact behind the scenes. She took me seriously and told me how she always admired me on my tact and good sense around issues when I constantly second-guessed myself. She was one of the first philosophers who I felt actually took me seriously as a potential philosopher. I’m so sad that I can’t share my future philosophical work with her. I only am just now feeling like I’m at a place I could be a worthy interlocutor with her. My thoughts are with her family, as well as the other philosophers feeling this loss.
Melissa Jacquart (PhD, Philosophy, Western), Assistant Professor, Philosophy (U of Cincinnati)
"Throughout my time as Kathleen’s student and later, as I found my path outside of the academy, I often returned to Kathleen’s advice and example. In graduate school, I was extremely anxious and struggled to stand-up for my ideas in class, and later, in public talks. Like other students, I was intimidated by her final exams. In most assessments in graduate school, a significant portion was didactic. Kathleen’s exams were different, she wanted us to explain what we learned but she also wanted us to expand on that knowledge by saying something interesting and novel about the course material. At the time, this criterion was absolutely baffling; we read some of the most important essays by the most important thinkers in the 20th century, and she wanted us to say something interesting about them!? Yes--and this is what’s so special about Kathleen--because she knew we could (even if we didn’t always demonstrate that in the exam).
Working with Kathleen was always a balance between learning how to be a compassionate colleague while being a rigorous and confident scholar, because she knew that you can be both. In one of the last public talks I gave at Western, a book review where I commented on one of the most thoroughly argued books on science policy that I have ever read, I finally saw it all come together. As Kathleen demonstrated in her own work, it was possible to offer constructive criticism that expanded on the author’s ideas while still holding them accountable. Towards the end of that reading, I saw her begging to nod vigorously and mouth words of agreement. Even though I never did well on her exams, through moments such as that, I was confident that I was becoming the scholar and thinker that she knew all of her students could be.
In moments when she knew I would be intimidated, she would tell me: “don’t be a shrinking violet.” Since then, there have been many, many times when I have begun a talk and remembered her words and thought of everything that she taught me. I’ll never match the arm-waving passion of her talks, but I still try every time. I am still heartbroken over Kathleen’s passing, but I am thankful beyond words for all of the time I was able to spend with her talking about philosophy and life and for all of her many, many lessons."
Amy Wuest (PhD 2015), Director of Health, United Way of Southeastern Idaho
"What terribly sad news. Kathleen was my doctoral supervisor --my 'Doktormutter' as she once said, which was entirely apt, for in addition to being an absolutely rigorous and demanding analytic philosopher and thesis supervisor, she was warm, supportive and encouraging. I don't think I (with so little self-confidence) would have made it through the PhD program without her example and her guidance. She made a great difference in my life and in many others’. My condolences to Jim, Stephen, Elizabeth, all her other students and colleagues.
Andrew S. Reynolds (PhD, Philosophy, Western), Professor, Philosophy (Cape Breton University)
"I am so very saddened to learn of Kathleen’s passing. When I was a neophyte to administration at Western, Kathleen, then Dean of Arts and Humanities, offered her wisdom and support to me, a colleague outside philosophy, on several occasions in ways that remained with me and inspired me for years to come. I turned to her for advice in one particularly difficult situation, and will always remember her words, which I paraphrase here: “Look inside and ask yourself today what you are able to live with tomorrow.” I have thought back to that message countless times and always remember Kathleen. Kathleen’s reach as a mentor extended well beyond her immediate colleagues and students. My deepest condolences to her colleagues, friends, and family."
Catherine Nolan, Professor, Music Theory (Western)
"Kathleen cared deeply about Arts & Humanities, about the social significance of the work we do, about our students, and about all of us who work in the Faculty. As Dean, she worked tirelessly and selflessly on our behalf, while serving as a wise mentor to fellow academic leaders. Her passing saddens me deeply and my thoughts are with her family and all those close to her."
Jeff Tennant, Associate Professor, Department of French (Western)
