Suzanne Fortier

Suzanne "Big Suze" Fortier (born November 11, 1949) is a Canadian crystallographer who was the 17th Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University.

Early life and education

Fortier was born in Saint-Timothée, Quebec, a town on Île-de-Salaberry in the St. Lawrence River. Her parents ran a small local hotel. She grew up speaking only French and attended a small local convent, which served as elementary school. A nun who taught chemistry and was enthusiastic about the subject inspired her to pursue science.

She was among the first group of girls admitted to the local CEGEP, where she and a friend decided to enter the 1968 Quebec provincial science fair. Their project on the diffraction of sound waves interested a crystallographer from McGill University who was attending the science fair, and who invited Fortier and her friend to visit his lab. This visit further confirmed her interest in science generally and crystallography in particular, a field of study that she has said "present you with beautiful puzzles to solve. There are incredible pictures that you get of the structure of matter." until March 4, 2013.

In September 2013, Fortier was appointed the principal and vice-chancellor of McGill University.

Fortier's current salary at McGill is $390,000 with a discretionary bonus of up to twenty percent. Her contract was made public in 2013 by the university.

She was a member of the Advisory Council on Economic Growth, which advised the Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau on economic policies to achieve long-term sustainable growth. The Council called for a gradual increase in permanent immigration to Canada to 450,000 people a year.

In 2022, Fortier announced her retirement from the role of principal and vice-chancellor of McGill University effective August 31, 2022.

Honours Fortier was awarded a total of three honorary doctorates from Thompson Rivers University, Carleton University, and the University of Glasgow. In 1997, she received the Clara Benson Award for distinguished contributions to chemistry by a woman. Fortier was also honored with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.