YUKON UNIVERSITY
Yukon University installs Carol Geddes as Chancellor

At its first meeting of the 2024-25 academic year, the Yukon University Board of Governors appointed Shaan Tlein Carol Geddes to the role of Chancellor. Geddes replaces Jamena James Allen, who held the position for two terms.

The Chancellor is the ceremonial head of the University. Appointed by the Board of Governors, the Chancellor acts as a bridge between the institution, the students, and the broader community. The Chancellor is responsible for conferring credentials on each graduating student. The position is voluntary for a term of two years.

"On behalf of the Board of Governors, I want to congratulate Carol. We are honoured to appoint Carol to this important position," said Board of Governor's Chair David Morrison. "It is a testament to her impressive career, as well as her deep commitment to her home, her people, and to Yukon University."

Geddes says she is looking forward to advancing the University's work toward reconciliation.

"Truth and Reconciliation requires building understanding, coming together, working and supporting each other in a spirit of collaboration and partnership. I am so pleased to be a part of an innovative and committed team that has brought Yukon University to the fore, to be among the leading Canadian institutions with such a truly strong and united vision of excellence in this initiative," said Geddes.

Yukon University President and Vice-Chancellor Lesley Brown said she looks forward to the perspectives and guidance of the new Chancellor. "Carol has been an important member of our Yukon University family, representing the larger community on our Board of Governors. Now as Chancellor, I look forward to receiving her guidance and direction as we realize our plans of nurturing our University to meet the unique needs of our students, the Yukon, and the North."

Geddes was born in Teslin, Yukon. She is of Tlingit and Scottish ancestry.

A distinguished filmmaker and writer, Geddes' first major film, Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief, won awards at the San Francisco Documentary Film Festival and DreamSpeakers Festival in Edmonton. Since then Geddes, has produced 25 documentary films and television programs. Whether writing, producing or directing, Geddes highlighted the stories and struggles of Indigenous life in Canada. Her credits include documentary Picturing A People, which earned her a Gemini nomination in in 1997 and the animated film Two Winters. Geddes wrote and directed the youth series Anash and the Legacy of the Sun-Rock, which earned a number of national and international prizes and garnered a second Gemini nomination for Canadian dramatic series.

Geddes has been a long-time member of the Yukon University community. At the age of 18, Geddes studied practical nursing at what was then the Whitehorse Vocational Training Centre. There she was introduced to research and academic life. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Psychology from Carleton University in 1978, and a Graduate diploma in Communications from Concordia University in Montreal in 1981.

From 1991 to 1996, Geddes led Studio One, a unit of the National Film Board dedicated to Indigenous production.

In 2002, Geddes was awarded the Queen's Royal Jubilee Medal for her outstanding contributions to the cultural community. She has served on the Teslin Tlingit Council; The Yukon Heritage Resources Board; the Canadian Council for the Arts; the Yukon Human Rights Commission; the Canadian Conference of the Arts; the National Film Board of Canada; and the Women in Media Foundation.

Carol co-authored the first User-friendly Guide to the Yukon Land Claim Agreements' which was instrumental in guiding Yukon First Nations in their understanding of the legal foundations of the Yukon Land Claim.

In 2008, she began studies in Mediation at the Justice Institute of BC. Over the course of five years she took required courses for a certificate in Mediation Studies and began practicing mediation in Teslin and Whitehorse.

Carol is an adjudicator with the Yukon Human Rights Tribunal, a long serving member of the Yukon University board of governors, and served as the first indigenous member of the Canada Council. She has been a member of various national task forces on indigenous issues.

Recently, she has authored 'History of the Tlingit People' (Beech Street Books, 2019) a brief overview for grades 2-3.