‘A truly lovely person:’ UTM remembers beloved professor Barbara Murck

The U of T Mississauga community is mourning the loss of one of its beloved professors, Barbara Murck, who passed away Oct. 15, 2022.

A professor in the Department of Geography, Geomatics and Environment, Murck is remembered as a devoted and accomplished teacher with a passion for the natural world.

“She was a remarkable champion of all things UTM and dedicated herself to the care and well-being of her students as well as to the many colleagues and friends she supported and advised in our community,” said Amrita Daniere, interim vice-principal, academic & dean, adding that Murck was a “truly lovely person.”

Murck graduated from Princeton University in 1976 and obtained her PhD in geology from the University of Toronto in 1986. She joined UTM in 1995.

Over the years, Murck devoted herself to teaching thousands of UTM students in courses related to environmental science, including several courses in the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program at the Institute for Management & Innovations.

Long before schools were forced to switch to remote teaching, Murck created an online version of ENV100 (Environment). For about 15 years, the large first-year course has been offered in a dual-delivery format during the academic year and, during the summer, fully online in a condensed six-week format. This approach allowed Murck to share her knowledge and enthusiasm for the natural world with even more students at UTM.

An important participant in UTM’s international education program, Murck was one of the main instructors for a summer undergraduate course for students in Ecuador.

“Her love for teaching and the planet deeply touched all who knew her,” Daniere said.

Murck also played a key role in the creation of the Environment program at UTM in 1999, serving as its director for many years. An avid hiker and reader, she authored numerous textbooks and scholarly publications in the areas of earth science, geology, environmental science and sustainability.

In 2010, Murck was awarded the U of T President’s Teaching Award for her incredible teaching accomplishments both inside and outside the classroom.