Wilfrid Laurier University is a public university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and was founded in 1911 as the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada and later Waterloo Lutheran University. It was renamed Wilfrid Laurier University in 1973 by the Government of Ontario under the Wilfrid Laurier University Act in 1973. The school is one of the fastest-growing universities in Canada; its enrollment doubled from 2002 to 2007, and it has 12,000 full-time undergraduate students as of 2008. Wilfrid Laurier University also has two satellite campuses in Brantford and Kitchener, both in Ontario.

People associated with Wilfrid Laurier University include faculty, alumni, staff, honorary degree recipients, chancellors, and presidents. The university has had nine chancellors, including the incumbent Michael Lee-Chin. Wilfrid Laurier University has had seven presidents, including the incumbent Deborah MacLatchy, who has served in this position since 1 July 2017.

Alumni and faculty

Fields with a — have unknown values.

Alumni

Name	Relationship	Discipline	Known for	Notes
Harold Albrecht	Undergraduate	General	Member of Parliament
Dean Allison	Undergraduate	Economics	Conservative member of Parliament
Ted Arnott	Undergraduate	Business administration	Progressive Conservative member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
Paul Bennett	Undergraduate	Sports	Canadian Football League defensive back
Mary Berg	Undergraduate	History and English	Chef, television personality, cookbook author
David Black	Undergraduate	English and anthropology	Canadian Football League offensive lineman
Robert Boyce	Undergraduate	Economics	Senior lecturer at London School of Economics
Nikola Budalić	Undergraduate	MBA	Soccer player
Glen Chorny	Undergraduate	Business and history	Poker player
Rod Connop	Undergraduate	Sports	Canadian Football League offensive lineman
Sean Conway	Undergraduate	Politics	Legislative Assembly of Ontario member
Jean Crowder	Undergraduate	Psychology	Politician
Bill Downe	Undergraduate	Business	Bank of Montreal president and CEO
Doug Downey	Undergraduate	Political Science	Attorney General of Ontario and Progressive Conservative member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
Cindy Eadie	Undergraduate	Economics	Hockey goaltender
John Estacio	Undergraduate	Composition	Composer
Ken Evraire	Undergraduate	Communication studies	Television journalist
John Glassford	Undergraduate	Sports	Canadian Football League linebacker
Corey Grant	Undergraduate	Sports	Canadian Football League wide receiver
Raj Grewal	Undergraduate	Business	Member of Parliament
Paul Heinbecker	Research fellow	Politics	Canadian ambassador to the United Nations
Lyndon Hooper	Undergraduate	Physical education	Soccer player
Paul James	Undergraduate	Sociology	Soccer analyst
Carl Klinck	Undergraduate	General	Waterloo College professor
Dave Knechtel	Undergraduate	Economics	Canadian Football League defensive tackle
Jenna Lambert	Undergraduate	Athlete	Swam across Lake Ontario despite having cerebral palsy
William C. Leggett	Undergraduate	General	Queen's University principal
Dave Levac	Undergraduate	—	Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Ian Logan	Undergraduate	Sports	Canadian Football League safety
Brian Masse	Undergraduate	Sociology	Member of the House of Commons of Canada
Chuck McMann	Undergraduate	Psychology	Canadian Football League player
Ted McMeekin	Graduate	Social work	Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Jacob Moon	Undergraduate	Music	Singer-songwriter
Heather Munroe-Blum	Graduate	Social work	McGill University principal
Cheryl Pounder	Undergraduate	Sports	Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist - Ice Hockey
Jim Reid	Undergraduate	Sports	CFL player
Damien Robitaille	Undergraduate	Classical music	Musician
Anthony Rota	Undergraduate	Politics	Member of the House of Commons of Canada
Donnie Ruiz	Undergraduate	Sports	Canadian Football League free safety
Jeffrey Ryan	Undergraduate	Music	Composer
Shad	Undergraduate	Business	Hip hop musician
Doug Smith	Undergraduate	Sports	Canadian Football League offensive lineman
Charles Sousa	Undergraduate	Business	Canadian Member of Provincial Parliament
Lance Storm	Undergraduate	Business	World Wrestling Entertainment professional wrestler
Andre Talbot	Undergraduate	Sports	Canadian Football League wide receiver
Kenneth Tam	Graduate	History	Science-fiction author
Keegan Connor Tracy	Undergraduate	Social psychology	Actress
Ian Troop	Undergraduate	Business	CEO, 2015 Pan Am Games
Larry Uteck	Graduate	Sports	Canadian Football League player
Chris Van Vliet	Undergraduate	Communications	Television personality and journalist
Laura Walker	Undergraduate	—	Curler
Andrew Witer	Undergraduate	—	Member of the House of Commons of Canada
Stephen Woodworth	Undergraduate	Law	Politician
Carolyn A. Wilkins	Undergraduate	Economics	Economist and first woman to serve as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada

• Sam Schachter (born 1990), Olympic volleyball player

{Karl W Schweizer;1966–69;Author and Historian}

Faculty

Name	Relationship	Discipline	Known for	Notes
Kimberly Barber	Professor	Opera	Mezzo-soprano and vocal pedagogue
Marie Bountrogianni	Assistant professor	—	Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Phelim Boyle	Professor	Finance	Initiating the use of Monte Carlo methods in option pricing
Jim Breithaupt	Board of Governors member	—	Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Terry Copp	Professor emeritus	Military history	Professor
Craig Fleisher	Professor	Economics	Researcher
Walter Hachborn	Board of Governors member	—	Co-founder of Home Hardware
Brian Henderson	Director of Laurier Press	—	Poet
Shohini Ghose	Professor		Physics
Morgan Holmes	Professor	Sociology	Intersex activist and scholar
Tuffy Knight	Coach	Sports	Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks head coach
John Warwick Montgomery	Chairman	History	Chairman of the Department of History
Donald Morgenson	Professor	Psychology	Contributions to humanistic psychology
Alison Mountz	Professor	Geography	Canada Research Chair in Global Migration
Kim Ondaatje	Lecturer	Literature	Part-time lecturer
John Reimer	Board of Governors member	—	Member of Parliament
Adele Reinhartz	Dean	Literature	Dean of Graduate Studies and Research
Roger Sarty	Professor	Military history	Canadian Forces Maritime Command historian
Lindsay Shepherd	Teaching assistant	Communication studies	Free-speech activism
Linda Catlin Smith	Professor	Music theory	Professor of composition Wilfrid Laurier
Andrew Telegdi	Board of Governors member	—	Former Liberal Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada (1993-2008)
Cynthia Johnston Turner	Dean of the Faculty of Music	Music	Conductor
Norman Wagner	Dean of graduate studies	Literature	Archaeologist
Darren Wershler-Henry	Assistant professor	Communication studies	Experimental poet

Honorary degree recipients

DDiv – Doctor of Divinity; DLitt – Doctor of Letters; LLD – Doctor of Laws

Name	Degree	Year	Known for	Notes
John Black Aird	LLD	November 1975	Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada
Raffi Armenian	LLD	June 1991	Conductor, pianist, composer, and teacher
Lloyd Axworthy	LLD	June 2008	Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
Thomas Axworthy	LLD	June 2003	Principal Secretary of Canada
Maude Barlow	DLitt	June 2004	National chairperson of The Council of Canadians
James Bartleman	LLD	June 2007	Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario
Derek Burney	LLD	June 1998	Progressive Conservative Party of Canada political strategist
Micheline Charest	LLD	June 1997	Founder of Cookie Jar Group
David Barr Chilton	DLitt	June 2006	Author and self-publisher of The Wealthy Barber
Jean Chrétien	LLD	May 1981	Prime Minister of Canada
John E. Cleghorn	LLD	October 1991	Chief executive officer of Royal Bank of Canada
Terry Copp	LLD	June 2005	Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University
Maureen Kempston Darkes	LLD	June 1998	General Motors vice president
William Grenville Davis	LLD	October 1963	Progressive Conservative Premier of Ontario
Paul Desmarais	LLD	May 1979	Fifth richest person in Canada
John George Diefenbaker	LLD	November 1968	Prime Minister of Canada
Pat Doherty	DLitt	October 1993	Vice president of Sinn Féin
Howard Dyck	LLD	May 1996	Conductor and broadcaster
Deborah Ellis	DLitt	June 2005	Winner of the Governor General's Award
John English	DLitt	May 1992	Academic
Willard Zebedee Estey	LLD	May 1977	Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
John Robert Evans	LLD	May 1975	Chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation
Timothy Findley	DLitt	June 2001	Novelist and playwright
Donald Methuen Fleming	LLD	October 1967	Official of the International Monetary Fund
Maureen Forrester	LLD	November 1975	Operatic contralto
Franklin Clark Fry	LLD	October 1963	Lutheran clergyman
Richard Goldstone	LLD	October 1995	South African judge
Buzz Hargrove	LLD	June 2004	National president of the Canadian Auto Workers
George Harris Hees	LLD	May 1961	Politician
Paul Heinbecker	LLD	May 1993	Canadian ambassador to the United Nations
James Hillier	LLD	May 2002	Built the first electron microscope in North America
Mel Hurtig	LLD	October 1985	President of the Art Gallery of Alberta
Diamond Jenness	LLD	May 1962	Anthropology
Russell Johnson (acoustician)	LLD	June 2003	Architectural Acoustician
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen	LLD	October 1961	Prime Minister of Finland
Anton Kuerti	DLitt	June 2005	Concert pianist
John Francis Leddy	LLD	November 1972	President of the University of Windsor
Michael Lee-Chin	LLD	October 2008	Executive of AIC Limited
William Leggett	LLD	October 1994	Principal of Queen's University
Stephen Lewis	LLD	May 1988	Social science scholar-in-residence at McMaster University
Arthur Reginald Marsden Lower	DLitt	May 1964	Royal Navy officer
William Ross Macdonald	LLD	May 1964	Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
Allan Joseph MacEachen	LLD	October 1976	Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
Hugh MacLennan	DLitt	October 1961	Recipient of the Governor General's Award
Paul Joseph James Martin	LLD	May 1967	Politician
Paul Martin	LLD	June 2001	Governor General's Award
Burton Matthews	LLD	June 1996	President of the University of Guelph
Marnie McBean	LLD	June 1999	Rower at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Jack McClelland	DLitt	May 1994	Publisher
Loreena McKennitt	DLitt	December 2002	Celtic music singer
Walter McLean	LLD	May 1995	Member of Parliament
Norah Evangeline Michener	LLD	November 1969	Wife of Governor General of Canada
Charles Hibbert Millard	LLD	May 1970	Trade union activist
John A. Miller	DDiv	May 1966	Roller coaster designer
Heather Munroe-Blum	LLD	October 2005	Principal of McGill University
Jan Narveson	DLitt	May 1989	Professor at University of Waterloo
Peter C. Newman	LLD	May 1983	Journalist
Christopher Newton	DLitt	June 1997	Artistic director of the Shaw Festival
Landon Pearson	LLD	May 1995	Canadian senator
Lester Bowles Pearson	LLD	December 1964	Prime Minister of Canada
John A. Pollock	LLD	October 2001	Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University
Jack Rabinovitch	LLD	October 2007	Founder of the Scotiabank Giller Prize
John Parmenter Robarts	LLD	May 1971	Premier of Ontario
Philip Bernard Rynard	LLD	October 1979	Physician, surgeon, and politician
Nafis Sadik	LLD	October 1995	Special adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations
Edward Togo Salmon	DLitt	November 1974	Ancient historian
Myron S. Scholes	LLD	October 2005	Co-author of the Black–Scholes model
Carol Shields	DLitt	October 2000	Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Joseph Roberts Smallwood	LLD	May 1962	Premier of Newfoundland
Edna Staebler	DLitt	October 1984	Cookbook author
Mark Starowicz	DLitt	June 2001	Journalist and producer
David Strangway	LLD	June 1997	Founder of Quest University
John Sweeney	LLD	May 1992	Politician and educator
Kurt Waldheim	LLD	May 1974	Secretary-General of the United Nations
David James Walker	LLD	May 1976	Politician
Pamela Wallin	DLitt	June 1999	Television journalist
Patrick Watson	LLD	October 1989	Broadcaster, author, and commentator
Sheila Watt-Cloutier	LLD	October 2008	Inuit activist
Rudy Wiebe	DLitt	June 1991	Professor at the University of Alberta
Eric Alfred Winkler	LLD	November 1974	Politician
Klaus Woerner	LLD	October 1999	Founder of ATS Automation Tooling Systems
John Yaremko	LLD	May 1969	Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Administration

Chancellors

Wilfrid Laurier University has had eleven chancellors.

#	Name	Term
1	William Daum Euler	May 20, 1961 – July 1961
2	Ross Macdonald	December 6, 1964 – June 1972
3	Paul Martin Sr.	June 1972 – April 30, 1977
4	John Black Aird	July 4, 1977 – July 3, 1985
5	Maureen Forrester	May 25, 1986 – May 29, 1990
6	Willard Estey	July 12, 1990 – October 30, 1995
7	John Cleghorn	October 27, 1996 – June 10, 2003
8	Bob Rae	September 1, 2003 – March 30, 2008
9	John A. Pollock	March 31, 2008 – October 27, 2011
10	Michael Lee-Chin	October 28, 2011 – September 13, 2016
11	Eileen Mercier	September 14, 2016 – present

Presidents

Wilfrid Laurier University has had eight presidents.

#	Name	Term
1	William Villaume	1960–1966
2	Frank Peters	1967–1978
3	Neale Tayler	1978–1982
4	John A. Weir	1982–1992
5	Lorna Marsden	1992–1997
6	Robert Rosehart	1997–2006
7	Max Blouw	2007–2017
8	Deborah MacLatchy	2017–present