Celebrating Professor Gillian Creese's career and retirement

UBC Sociology celebrated Professor Gillian Creese's retirement on May 11, 2023

UBC Sociology celebrates the retirement of Prof. Gillian Creese, who has been a member of our UBC community and the departments of Sociology and GRSJ for over 35 years.

Throughout Gillian’s time at UBC, her contributions have been exceptional, spanning teaching and learning, research, and service to the University and the community. Many of these forms of service have drawn upon her demonstrated expertise in race and gender inequality and her commitment to advancing social equity. She has served on a variety of committees advising the President on issues of race, gender and equity and was Associate Dean, Faculty and Equity in the Faculty of Arts for 5 years.

Gillian Creese

Gillian was essential in supporting Gender Studies at UBC and its evolution into GRSJ. She was an important supporter of the effort to establish Women’s and Gender Studies in the early 1990s, serving as chair of the Women’s Studies Program in 1993 and playing a key role in its development. She was also a critical participant in the reorganization of the Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies into the more inclusive Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, serving as a co-founding director of the new Institute.

Gillian has been active in public sociology. She has twice served as an expert witness, served for five years on the Board of Directors of MOSAIC, an important local immigrant settlement organization, and more recently six years as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Umoja Operation Compassion Society, an organization addressing the needs of African immigrants in the Vancouver Metro region. Across these roles, Gillian’s community service is tied to her important research on the experiences of immigrants, especially African immigrants, in Canada.

Gillian has been an enormously productive scholar, publishing three solo-authored books, one co-authored volume, three edited volumes, 23 peer-reviewed articles and 32 chapters in peer-reviewed books. As with her service work, social equity concerns lie at the center of Gillian’s research agenda. Her research adopts a feminist, anti-racist framework in an effort to understand the dynamics of gendered, racialized, and classed forms of exclusion.

Gillian’s contributions to teaching and mentoring have also been exceptional, supervising 65 graduate students and teaching a wide variety of courses. Her strong commitment to equity and inclusion in the classroom and in mentoring has been felt by generations of her students.

UBC Sociology held a retirement celebration for Profs. Gillian Creese and Becki Ross in May 2023.

Below is a photo gallery from those celebrations.

Stories and Messages for Gillian Creese

Prof. Nathan Lauster

I'll be forever grateful to Gillian for serving as a mentor. I remember especially how she took the time to meet with me and talk through my weird book idea, giving me pragmatic advice on where and how I should go about publishing it. I imagine it was just one of many mentoring moments for Gillian in her long career, and I'd almost be surprised if she remembered it. But her support at that moment was really meaningful to me, and it gave me the courage to get over all kinds of little blocks to working through the process of publishing a book. Thanks Gillian!

Prof. Neil Guppy

If a junior colleague were to ask me to identify a professional colleague who could serve as their mentor, Gillian would be an immediate choice. My reasons for such a choice are too numerous to list in full, but they would include her principled stance on issues, her ability to appreciate multiple viewpoints, the consistent wisdom of her advice, and her attentiveness to and consideration of others. She also is strong practitioner of public sociology, invested for example in the labour movement in her early years, and more recently in the achievements of the African diaspora in Canada. Few of us have developed such a rich community engagement.

Prof. Renisa Mawani

Gillian was one of the first people I met when I interviewed at UBC. And when I arrived as an Assistant Professor, she made the transition so much easier. I looked forward to the monthly dinner's that Gillian hosted and have learned so from her. Thank you Gillian!

Prof. Rima Wilkes

Gillian was the first colleague to invite me to her home. I couldn't help but notice how clean it was. Since then I have since had the privilege of learning that, to use Goffman's term, this is not front stage. More importantly, I have taken great inspiration from Gillian and her academic work. I have taught her "What Colour is Your English?" paper for more than a decade. This paper gave me the first inkling of how meaningful sociology could be. A student came up to me after class and said that when she read the paper that she felt like someone was looking out for her. This ability to look out for others, always with humility, generosity, and grace, epitomizes the kind of person and scholar that is Gillian Creese.

Prof. Emeritus Bob Ratner

When Brian Elliott was in his last months as Head, I cornered him in his office and told him that if he didn't make Gillian the next Head I would never leave the Department, even if I had to occupy a hallway.

I have nothing but positive thoughts and feelings about Gillian Creese. Gillian was already a longstanding member of the Department of Anthropology & Sociology when I joined in 2000. She presided over the sociology caucus of the larger department for a number of years, effectively serving as my departmental head during that time, and she was amazing in the role. Through the years, whenever she spoke I felt compelled to listen because I knew that some pearls of wisdom were about to be shared. She is so smart, and so articulate, and so principled. I count her among the small number of faculty in the department (Becki Ross is also in this group) who preceded me and provided a template for me in regards to how to be a principled and dedicated sociologist in Vancouver, BC and Canada. Thank you so much for your many contributions to the department and UBC throughout these last three decades, Gillian! I'm so pleased to have known you and to have been your colleague.