Colin McLaren

Assistant Professor

Dr. McLaren is an assistant professor in the Department of Experiential Learning in Community and Sport at CBU. He completed his BA (Honours) in Human Kinetics at Laurentian University, his MSc in Kinesiology and Physical Education at Wilfrid Laurier University, and PhD in Kinesiology from the University of Saskatchewan. He also completed a Postdoctoral fellowship in the Groups for Youth Development Lab at Nipissing University. Dr. McLaren teaches courses in the Community Studies core and in Sport and Physical Activity Leadership programs. His research program broadly investigates positive youth development through sport, recreation, and extracurricular activity involvement, with a specific focus on social identity, leadership, and resilience. His research is externally supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (2022-2024) and Mitacs Canada (2022-2025). Expertise: Sport and Exercise Psychology; Youth Development; Mental Health; Social Identity; Leadership