Meet KPU: Dr. Ross Michael Pink

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Dr. Ross Michael Pink is a political science instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University who has numerous papers published and has written two books. He is a former journalist, a lecturer at universities for 20 years, and has been invited to speak at conferences for the United Nations University and McMaster University. He’s also the co-founder of the NGO Global Water Rights that he created with a former student.

Pink has centered his focus on creating more opportunities for his students to gain new experiences and make connections in the political world. His areas of interest are water rights and development, child rights, and human security. 

When did you join the KPU community, and why?

I started teaching here as a seasonal. I would get one semester, and then two semesters, and then I got more and more courses offered and more semesters. Then there was an opportunity to work full time, I applied, and I was grateful and fortunate to be hired as a full-time professor. I really enjoy it. 

I really value the community here, it’s a very supportive community. It’s a young university, very student centered. I really like the philosophy of having 35 students per class. When you have a model like KPU, it will tremendously increase engagement in all ways. 

The university has grown, we have more students, we have more programs, more innovation. But the philosophy is pretty consistent, and that’s what I admire about KPU — it has a very innovative culture. 

What is your favourite story of your time at KPU?

We were fortunate there was a United Nations ambassador who lived in Surrey. UN ambassadors are usually in New York or Geneva. Her name is Ik Ero, and she is a special United States representative for persons with albinism. I invited her to speak to my class at the Richmond campus in 2020, and she’s a very powerful speaker. 

At the same time, I had two students who came up to me and said they really wanted careers in international law. This is why I always encourage students to talk to their professors, because professors have a lot of contacts that can be very helpful to students. 

A month later, Ik Ero came into my class and gave a really thoughtful presentation, and I’m part journalist, and journalists love asking questions. I said to Ero, “I have two students that are really dedicated to a career in international law. Would it be possible for you to mentor them? Could they do a four-month volunteer posting with your office?” She could have said no, but she said yes.

Both students did one semester, and they had an extraordinary experience. Ero was good to them, she gave them reference letters. I said to one of the students, “You know, this is really a golden opportunity,” and she said, “It’s not golden, it’s platinum.” 

When you get involved and you try to help students, a lot of people come to help you as well. I’m a big believer in mentorship. It is about initiative. People need to take the initiative to take care. 

What is something that you’d like to say to people new to the community?

When you come to the university, recognize that it is a privilege to be able to go to university. And a community is all around in a university, a community of not just education, but a community of culture, art, learning — it’s a community of many worlds. 

Get involved in your community because there’s so many chances to learn and grow and meet people, and go into music or art, learn about culture or religion. Get to know your colleagues in class and get to know your professors. They can be great to help you learn and help you build as a person.

What are you working on right now?

I do a lot on child rights, human rights, and water rights. We have a program at KPU for professors called professional development (PD) funds. A PD fund will give you funding to travel, to give a guest lecture, work on a paper, do some research, or, in my case, to work on a book.

I got a grant from KPU to do a book on Tibetan refugees. I lived in Dharamsala for seven weeks, and I’ll be going to Asia to have more meetings with Elders and community leaders. My feeling is that KPU has been very generous in supporting my research on child rights, human rights, climate change, and water rights. 

In 2021, I started a program called the KPU Political Mentorship Program. What we do is we post students for four months of volunteering with a MP or an MLA. We already have 12 students participating. The MPs, MLAs, and everybody have been very happy, and the students are learning a lot. They learn about politics, they get to go to events, and several students have met with Premier John Horgan. The hosts have sent me emails saying how smart these KPU students are, how they are eager to learn, and how helpful they are. 

We benefit as a political science department because we’re promoting opportunities and learning for students, so it’s a win-win-win. For example, we have MP Ken Hardie participating, Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay is participating, MP Sukh Dhaliwal is participating, and we have MLA Megan Dykeman participating. We have many more MPs and MLAs, and as we grow we’ll add more. It’s a really exciting program that students are so happy to be involved in. 

What is something you would like people to know about you?

My heritage is English, French, and a little Greek, Portuguese, and Swedish. I’ve always been passionate about ancient Greece. There’s a great quote from the Greeks: “Eat, drink and be merry. Today, you live.” That’s the philosophy of life. The second one I like is that Pericles said a true citizen, a good citizen, is informed and involved in the community. That’s my definition of good citizenship.

I love to be informed. I love reading books, biographies, and history. I’m a writer, but I also like to be involved and that’s why I’ve written two books with Palgrave Macmillan. One is on water rights and the second is on climate change, supported through PD funds. 

That all flows from my philosophy of enjoying life and treating life as a gift, and also as a good citizen being informed and being active in your community.