Rate My Professor Peter Leavitt

Peter R. Leavitt is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Regina. He holds a B.Sc. (Honours, 1st class) in Biology from Queen’s University (1981), an M.Sc. in Limnology from Queen’s University (1985), and a Ph.D. in Aquatic Biology from the University of Notre Dame (1989). Leavitt serves as Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change and Society (2003–2024), founding Director of the Institute of Environmental Change and Society, and Director of the Qu’Appelle Long-term Ecological Research Program. His research specializes in limnology and integrates ecosystem experiments, modeling, paleolimnology, and long-term ecological research to examine factors regulating lake structure and function, including nitrogen effects on lakes, climate-lake interactions, and ecosystem sustainability and management. Leavitt is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Royal Society of Biology (UK). He has authored or co-authored over 215 peer-reviewed papers and received the 2025 Ruth Patrick Award for contributions to limnology. His work has informed legislation such as the 2011 Save Lake Winnipeg Act and contributed to global understanding of human and climatic impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

Leavitt has held additional appointments including Professor at Queen’s University Belfast (2018–2021), Director of the Canadian Institute of Ecology and Evolution (2012–2018), Fulbright Visiting Research Chair at the University of California-Santa Barbara (2015), and various visiting scholar positions. He has served on editorial boards for journals including Limnology and Oceanography Letters and Ecology, and contributed to national and international scientific leadership roles.