Dr. Claire Crooks.
In Memoriam - Claire Crooks
The Faculty of Education mourns the loss of our esteemed colleague and beloved friend, Dr. Claire Crooks.
Claire devoted herself to advancing and bringing innovation to children’s mental health and violence prevention programming. Children, families, and communities from all over the world are thriving today because they had Claire in their corner.
Claire was a registered psychologist and one of the founding partners of the Fourth R, a relationship-based approach to preventing violence, which she co-developed alongside Dr. David Wolfe, Ray Hughes, and Dr. Peter Jaffe. The program is now used throughout Canada and beyond and is the only Canadian-developed school-based dating violence prevention program widely considered to be effective.
We had the privilege of welcoming Claire into our faculty in 2014. The following year, she established the Centre for School Mental Health. Thanks to her vision, leadership, and dedication, it is now recognized as one of the preeminent centres for children’s mental health both nationally and internationally.
While leading the Centre, Claire undertook a multitude of projects aimed at serving the needs of diverse youth and contexts. This included a Fourth R offshoot known as the Healthy Relationships Program, the Supporting Transition Resilience of Newcomer Groups (STRONG) project, and the Innovation and Scale Up Lab with School Mental Health Ontario.
An exemplary scholar who was promoted to full professor in 2019, Claire amassed more than 100 publications and nearly 6,800 citations of her work. She supervised more than 35 graduate students and trained thousands of educators, social workers, public health nurses, community mental health professionals and judges across Ontario and beyond in evidence-based approaches to violence prevention and mental health.
For years, Claire fulfilled her passions by volunteering for the Canadian Women’s Foundation and the Hobgoblin Foundation. She also lent her expertise to supervising psychologists undertaking the registration process with the College of Psychologists of Ontario.
Her impact and innovation have been recognized by numerous awards including the Order of Ontario. It is Ontario’s highest civilian honour and is reserved for those whose excellence has left a lasting impact in our province and beyond. There is no description more fitting for someone like Claire.
Words are not enough to convey how deeply she will be missed. She has touched countless lives and we know that her memory will be cherished in our hearts forever.
A memorial celebration has been planned for Friday, July 26, at 4 p.m. inside the Great Hall, Room 3326, Somerville House, Western University, with a drop-in reception to follow, starting at 5 p.m.
All are welcome to attend.
If you would like to send your condolences, please visit Claire's obituary: https://harrisfuneralhome.ca/obituaries/claire-crooks/
