Dr. Patricia Marchak, Dean of Arts at UBC from 1990 to 1996, passed away on Jan. 1. Prior to becoming Dean, Marchak was the Head of the Dept. of Anthropology and Sociology. At UBC, she received her Bachelor of Arts in1958, her PhD in 1970, and joined the faculty in 1973. During her early years at UBC, she was a journalist for the Ubyssey newspaper and a secretary to President Norman MacKenzie. More recently, Marchak served as faculty associate with the Institute for Resources and Environment, and as a Distinguished Scholar at the Peter Wall Institute of Distinguished Studies.
Marchak was a past president of the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, served on the B.C. Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee, and on the boards of the Open Learning Institute and the University Hospital. She was elected to Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada and served as chair of the B.C. Buildings Corporation. She has authored numerous books and articles on political ideology, economic development, resources industries and the social context of ecological issues.
