Robin Leech fonds

Known affectionately by students and colleagues as “Spiderman,” Dr. Robin Leech was a passionate entomologist who specialized in the arachnids of the Arctic and the Canadian prairies. After conducting field work in Hawaii, Laos, Vietnam, and throughout Africa, Leech earned his PhD from the University of Alberta in 1970.

Throughout his career, Leech worked for the National Research Council as a post-doctoral fellow, as a consultant with both federal and provincial governments, and on photo and videography projects on the flora and fauna of Alberta with the Edmonton-area filmmaker Albert Karvonen. Starting in 1984, Leech began contract teaching for the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in the Biological Sciences department. He taught courses on a variety of subjects, including comparative vertebrate anatomy, meteorology, ecology, invertebrate zoology, entomology, botany, and English grammar and report writing. He retired from teaching in 2002. The Robin Leech fonds contains records from both Leech’s personal and professional life, including photographs, maps, personal papers, and home videos.