Dr. Christopher Merrett has been chosen as the recipient of the Kenneth J. Shouldice Professional Achievement Award for 2025. The Shouldice Award, established in 1994, honors individuals whose personal and professional successes serve as outstanding examples to LSSU graduates. Dr. Shouldice is, in many ways, the founding father of today’s Lake Superior State University. As the first chancellor and president (1965-1982), he guided the campus from a two-year branch of Michigan Technological University to an autonomous four-year college.
A native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Merrett earned a BA in Geography from the University of Western Ontario in 1983. He then worked for the Great Lakes Power Corporation and served in the Canadian Air Force before earning a BS in Political Science from LSSU in 1986. He was granted an MA in Geography from the University of Vermont in 1988 and a PhD in Geography and Planning from the University of Iowa in 1994.
Merrett serves as Dean for Innovation and Economic Development, Executive Director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, and Distinguished University Professor at Western Illinois University (WIU), Macomb, Illinois. Outside the university, he has served for twenty years as a member of the Governor’s Rural Affairs Council. He is also currently a Special Advisor on Innovation to the University President of WIU, a member of the Farm Equity and Food Insecurity Advisory Council for Illinois, and a member of the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Visioning Alliance for Rural Resiliency. He served as a Transition Team Member for Illinois Governor-Elect J.B. Pritzker in 2018-2019.
Merrett, a nationally recognized leader in rural economic and community development, has made profound contributions as a scholar, educator, and public advocate. At Western Illinois University, he has played an integral role in mentoring students at all levels, advancing research through extensive publications and major grants, and sharing his expertise with audiences around the world — including national media, global institutions, and policy organizations. He is also widely respected for his leadership in professional organizations and his service to the academic community through editorial and review work. His many honors include WIU’s Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award and the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research’s Excellence Award.
In addition to these many professional activities, Merrett has found time to be involved in a variety of community service activities, including volunteer service for the Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts of America, Macomb Little League Baseball, the McDonough County Girls Softball League, and YMCA youth soccer.
Dr. Merrett and his wife, Mary Kiritsy, a former university researcher who now teaches fourth grade, have been married for 36 years. They have two adult children, Grace and Alastair, and enjoy spending part of each summer at their cottage in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.