Dr. Will Low was born in Vernon B.C. and completed most of his schooling in Kelowna, B.C. He completed a BA (Hons.) and a MA, both in economics, at UBC before going to the London School of Economics as Sir W.A. Lewis development studies scholar. While in England, Will worked as a researcher on several university projects while undertaking a PhD part-time. Will was awarded his PhD in 1997, completing a thesis on micro-econometric analysis of firm level hiring and pricing decisions.

You could say Will has come a long way since then, physically and intellectually. Will has taught at universities in England, Tasmania, B.C., Thailand, Oregon and most recently in New Zealand with the University of Auckland Business School. These courses have covered economics, public and social policy, research methods and management. Over the last five years Will has specialized in teaching about business and society and sustainability issues.

Will joins Royal Roads University as a core faculty member with responsibility for courses in sustainability and business. The challenge is to present to students the need for business to think about sustainability, not just as responsible thing to do but because it is also “good business”. Pedagogically, Will starts by asking students to think about sustainability issues from their own perspectives and within their own lives, broadening this out to the context of business and society.

Will conducts research into the international fair trade movement and in sustainable consumption. His recent research appears in International Marketing Review, Sustainable Development, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Journal of Consumer Behavior, and Journal of Business Ethics. He has also worked with the NGO community in Canada and New Zealand in a voluntary advisory capacity and does consulting work for companies and NGOs. Recent projects have been for UNICEF, Oxfam, The Warehouse Group and the Asia Development Bank.

Will is familiar with Victoria, having spent two years here in the early 1990s working as a senior economist in the provincial government before joining UNBC in Prince George as a foundation faculty member. The family (wife, two sons and their dog) live in James Bay where they enjoy walks on Dallas Road. If he had more time available, Will would like to cycle more and maybe even play soccer again!