Pat Rogers (née Patricia Greenslade)

Pat Rogers (née Patricia Greenslade) died tenderly on January 21st, 2024, with her daughter holding her hand, her surrogate-daughter by her side, and her two sisters and surrogate-niece in the next room. She was 78. Known to many as Dr. Pat Rogers, a title she would often roll her eyes at, Pat had a remarkable and influential career that spanned across many different institutions, roles, activities, and relationships.

Born just after the end of the war in Woking, England on November 1st, 1945, to a Scottish mother and a Welsh father, she spent her early years in Belfast, Northern Ireland and later in Cardiff, Wales. She was one of few women to study mathematics at the University of Oxford in the class of '65. While pursuing her PhD at the University of London’s Bedford College, Pat taught at North London Polytechnic and Goldsmith's College before becoming a faculty member in Mathematics and Education at York University in Toronto, Canada. Here she played a critical role in organising the union of part-time instructors and in the fight to regularise sessional work at the university. After being tenured as a full-time Professor, Pat was founding director of the Centre of the Support of Teaching, for which seminar room 3003 at Vari Hall is named after her – and where the plaque honouring her is the only thing bolted down, in keeping with her boisterous teaching style, in which chairs and tables should always be moveable to encourage discussion and collaboration. Pat also served as a grievance officer for the York University Faculty Association which continued her support for junior faculty members across the university. Pat was very proud of ‘Real Woman Don’t Do Math!’, a 3-day residential program she developed that championed maths education for teenage women and was marked by her signature, dynamic workshop delivery. Her young daughter brought along to participate and witness! She left York to pursue two instrumental terms as Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Windsor, where she helped develop many programs encouraging work within community and where she was consistently energised by a very special group of academics who remained her good friends - you know who you are. Pat’s work was passionately rooted in social justice, and upon leaving Windsor, a scholarship recognising students working towards alleviating educational inequalities in the local community was established in her honour. 

Pat was recipient of numerous teaching awards throughout her career, including the prestigious 3M National Teaching Award, and was the first Canadian and the first woman to be appointed as a Pólya Lecturer by the Mathematical Association of America. She retired as VP of Teaching and Learning at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo.

Pat was diagnosed with cancer for the second time in 2021 and profoundly impressed her family, friends, and many health practitioners with the tenacious and spirited way in which she battled it. When she asked one of her doctors how long she could expect to live – the striking response which she proudly repeated was: “I can’t answer – you have already lived longer that I expected!”. Pat’s last months were spent living at Christie Gardens, where she made new friends and was cared for by a loving team, who she energetically raved about, notably Lorna and Tenzin. She was extremely grateful to the oncology team at St. Joseph’s and felt so lucky for the care she received by SE Health, including Frances, Malak and her palliative nurse, Kerrie.

Pat will remain a part of everyday for her daughter and grand-daughter, Kate & Vy Greenslade - the loss too great for words here. Loved by many, including her sisters Bryony Harmsworth & Chris Ashton, their partners, children, and their children, her surrogate daughter Kerry Smith, with whom she was once a ‘force-some’ with Leslie, her great-niece Fiah, surrogate family Daniel Lutz, Gerry and Heather McLetchie-Leader, and a family-ship made up of a gaggle of devoted friends, including Walter, ML, Julia and Shahnaz, her ex-husband Nick, and numerous colleague-friends and comrades. Bonded in our hearts and thoughts, our P will be remembered for her warmth, generosity, supportive nature, hard work, passion, mischief, humour, irreverence, and no-nonsense courage.