Susan Michelle Hicks was a vibrant member of the UBC community from 2005 to 2012. She tragically passed away in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Friday, October 23, 2015, after being hit by a car while riding her bicycle home from work.

Susan graduated in 1999 from her high school in a suburb of Washington, DC as the class valedictorian. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree (in Anthropology and English in 2003), as well as a master’s degree (in Administration and Policy Studies in 2005) from the University of Pittsburgh. Susan completed her PhD in Cultural Anthropology at UBC in the fall of 2011, defending a dissertation funded by a US National Science Foundation Arctic Social Sciences Program fellowship on the relationship between indigeneity and shifting senses of ethnic identity among the Sakha in northeastern Russia.

Susan was passionate about Russia, and in particular, about the Sakha Republic and its people and history; she was also passionate about sharing her knowledge with others. Susan taught in a study abroad program in Russia (2011-2012), as well as at UBC (fall 2009) and Simon Fraser University (spring 2012). In 2013 Susan took up a position in the Center for Russian and East European Studies (CREES) at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2015 Susan was promoted to Assistant Director for Academic Affairs at CREES. She thrived in this position, counselling students in their programs of study and designing study abroad opportunities for masters students interested in comparative energy studies in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Susan was much loved for her sense of diplomacy and warm personality, but also for always being ready for a challenge. Susan biked all over the city of Pittsburgh and at the time of her death had recently taken up rowing. She is sadly missed by her family and by all whose lives she touched.

The Susan M. Hicks Award for Graduate Research in Eurasia will honour Susan, a young woman who touched many with her exuberance for life and passion for Russia. It will be awarded on an annual basis, and all UBC Faculty of Arts graduate students planning to conduct research in Eurasia will be eligible to apply.

Your donation will help to create a permanent legacy for Susan’s contributions to UBC, by supporting graduate students who share her commitment to Russia and its people.