The romantic sense of English and literature was a prime factor in Margaret’s (BA '68, MA '72) decision to pursue a major in English. In fact, as she states, perhaps she liked it too much as her grades fluctuated according to her enthusiasm for the topic: “The more I enjoyed the subject, the lower my grades—good thing I moved on to sociology!”

An enthusiasm for learning has prevailed throughout Margaret’s life. She attended the University of Guelph for both her undergraduate and masters degrees; her choice of university was influenced by Guelph’s small size, agricultural ties, beautiful campus and proximity to her hometown of Agincourt, where she lived on her family’s farm, helping to raise Shetland ponies. After completing her MA in Sociology and Anthropology, she taught for several years in Perth, Australia, before moving to Cambridge, England, where she obtained her MPhil in Criminology. Following that, she received her PhD in Sociology from Columbia University.

In between pursuing degrees, Margaret had a variety of ‘real-life’ learning experiences, which have, collectively, shaped her. During her MA, she worked at the Vanier Centre for Women in Brampton, Ontario and was assigned care of three women who were undergoing rehabilitation. Upon arriving at work one morning, she discovered that all three had, surprisingly, escaped through the bathroom window. In Australia, while teaching at what was then called the West Australian Institute of Technology, (now called Curtin University), she accompanied the West Australian museum staff to remote areas in the northernmost part of West Australia, via dirt roads, in order to mark, for their protection, sacred aboriginal sites. Unbelievably, the nearest city to Perth at that time was considered to be Singapore.

After returning to Canada following her MPhil from Cambridge she taught for one year at Niagara College and then taught at a local college in New York while working on her doctorate. From 1980-82, Margaret returned to the University of Guelph as a visiting professor and following that pursued a career in Ottawa with the Federal Department of the Solicitor General's Office. It was there that she worked on police policy, organized crime research, and crime enforcement; overall she was a factor in the fight against organized crime for 11 years. Not one to shy away from teaching, she continued to instruct at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa in the evenings, making her way to and from classes by skating along the frozen Rideau Canal.

A two-year leave from government found Margaret moving to Kingston, Ontario where she taught at Queen’s University. It was during this time that her first book was published; it was focused on organized crime in Canada and criminal conspiracy.

At the end of her leave, Margaret found her way back into the academic world when she accepted a faculty position at York University and became the first Director of the, then newly established, Nathanson Centre for the study of Organized Crime and Corruption at Osgoode Hall Law School. Margaret continued in this position for ten years and is currently a professor at York, teaching in both the law and sociology faculties.

Outside of her time in academia, Margaret has found adventures in her travels and personal life. She has ventured to Asia quite frequently, visiting Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, and all along the coast of Vietnam. In January of 2000, she adopted a four-year old girl from North Vietnam. As her daughter Nhai grows a little older, she plans to make an extended return trip to Vietnam. Spring 2007 will see them both in Penang, soaking up the ‘spirit ‘of Somerset Maugham and Joseph Conrad at the E&O Hotel. Many of Margaret’s current projects would fascinate people. At the moment she is analyzing police transcripts of Toronto gangs, made public following various court cases, in order to better understand their living conditions, family and other networks of support, and notions of their relationship to weapons. She has published two new books during 2007: a co-edited book titled Police and Government Relations: Who’s Calling the Shots? and a co-authored book titled Money Laundering in Canada: Chasing Dirty and Dangerous Dollars.

Looking back at her time at the University of Guelph, Margaret recalls lots of men on campus! It was, at the time, still very agriculturally dominated and not many women were attending. She also fondly remembers the summer semesters spent on campus, especially seeing all the trees in bloom. She found it remarkable to have a year-round school system. Professor Ted Hadwin made a striking impression on Margaret; she called him a 'real' teacher in terms of his ability to inspire his students (usually with pipe in hand!) in the extremely large introductory classes. Margaret believes it is very important to have excellent teachers in those first year classes—which too often is not the case. As professors gain seniority, there is a tendency for them to want the small fourth year and graduate classes leaving the all-important first year classes to those with less experience.

Her advice to current students – “Do not go straight into graduate school! Expand your cloistered university life, have fun. Academic life can become like an assembly line… you'll get tenure and then you will fear leaving what might be the very first teaching position you acquire. Twenty-years later you will be the curmudgeon on campus bitching about work conditions having never experienced any other work.”

An assembly line is certainly not the way to describe Margaret’s life! Her love of learning and travel has led to an established career as an expert in organized crime. It is, without a doubt that Margaret will continue to contribute to the development of Canada’s future minds.