On Oct. 1, Michael Strong becomes the new president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Dr. Strong is an internationally recognized researcher specializing in the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. His work has helped to shed new light on a process by which an abnormal form of some proteins may accumulate in nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain, destroying the cells, and leading to the symptoms of the disease. Dr. Strong has served since 2010 as dean of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University, where he is a Distinguished University Professor and holds the Arthur J. Hudson Chair in ALS Research. From 2000 to 2010, he served as the chief of neurology and co-chair of the department of clinical neurological sciences at the London Health Sciences Centre and Western University.
Gillian Siddall is the next president and vice-chancellor of Emily Carr University of Art + Design, starting Sept. 1. Dr. Siddall began her career as a sessional lecturer at the University of Guelph and was the founding director of Lakehead University’s teaching and learning centre, and the dean of Lakehead’s faculty of social sciences and humanities. Her research area is Canadian literature and she has published extensively on musical improvisation, within and outside a literary context. She most recently served as vice-president, academic, and provost at OCAD University.
Royal Roads University has named Philip Steenkamp its president and vice-chancellor, starting Jan. 1, 2019. Dr. Steenkamp joins Royal Roads from the University of British Columbia, where he has served as vice-president, external relations, since 2015. Previous roles include vice-president, external relations, at Simon Fraser University, and president and chief executive officer of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Secretariat. He has also held senior leadership positions in multiple provincial ministries over a 17-year career in the public service.
Redeemer University College has named Robert J. Graham the institution’s next president. Since 2013, Dr. Graham has served as provost and vice president, academic affairs, at Grove City College, a Christian liberal arts college in Pennsylvania. From 2008 to 2013, he was provost at Waynesburg University, another Christian institution also in Pennsylvania. He holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Cincinnati and a master of gerontological studies from Miami University.
Michelle Voss Roberts was named principal of Emmanuel College of Victoria University, federated with the University of Toronto, effective July 1. Dr. Voss Roberts, the college’s first female principal, comes from the school of divinity at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where she has taught since 2011 and since 2015 has served as the associate dean of academic affairs. An expert in comparative theology, with a focus on Christian and Hindu contexts, Dr. Voss Roberts has written widely about esthetics, gender and embodiment.
Greg Finn will become Brock University’s interim provost and vice-president, academic, on Oct. 1. Since joining Brock in 1985, he has served as a professor of earth sciences and, over the past 11 years, as vice-provost and associate vice-president, academic.
Laurentian University named Yves Pelletier associate vice-president, academic and Francophone affairs, effective Aug. 1. Born and raised in Sudbury, Dr. Pelletier was assistant deputy minister for postsecondary education in New Brunswick. He has served on Laurentian’s board of governors and held leadership roles at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, and what is now Employment and Social Development Canada.
Shelley Watson is the new associate vice-president, learning and teaching, at Laurentian University, as of July 1. She became assistant professor in the department of psychology in 2007 and was promoted to full professor in 2012. Dr. Watson served as acting dean of the faculty of graduate studies in 2016 and was coordinator of the interdisciplinary health master’s program.
Steve Paikin was reappointed chancellor of Laurentian University for a second three-year term, beginning July 1. Mr. Paikin is a journalist, author, documentary film producer and well-known Canadian television personality. He is the anchor and senior editor of TVO’s flagship current affairs program The Agenda with Steve Paikin.
Redeemer University College has appointed Karen Dieleman dean of humanities. Dr. Dieleman currently holds three academic leadership roles at Trinity Christian College in Chicago: chair of the English department, area chair of the humanities and chair of Trinity’s personnel committee. She has previously taught part-time in Redeemer’s English department and holds a diploma of teaching from Covenant Canadian Reformed Teachers College.
Lisa Philipps was named provost and vice-president, academic, at York University, on July 1. She has been serving on an interim basis since May 2017. Dr. Philipps first joined York in 1996 and is a professor of law at York’s Osgoode Hall Law School. She has served as an assistant and associate dean at Osgoode, and from 2011 to 2014 as associate vice-president, research. In 2015-16, she was interim dean of the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law at Lakehead University.
Lorna Butler joins the University of New Brunswick as dean of nursing on the Fredericton campus, starting Sept. 1. Dr. Butler is currently a professor in the college of nursing at the University of Saskatchewan, as well as senior strategist, distributed and technology enhanced learning and discovery, in the office of the vice-president, research. She has held various administrative positions, including dean of the college of nursing and acting director for U of S’s International Centre for Northern Governance and Development.
Algoma University has named Robert Battisti vice-president, finance and operations. Mr. Battisti comes to Algoma from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, where he served in finance-related capacities for the past five years.
Saint Mary’s University appointed Harjeet Bhabra dean of the Sobey School of Business, effective Sept. 1. He comes to Saint Mary’s from Concordia University, where he is a professor of finance in the John Molson School of Business. Dr. Bhabra has also served as associate dean of research and research programs and as the director of the MBA program at Concordia University.
St. Francis Xavier University has named alumnus John Peacock chancellor, effective Sept. 1. Mr. Peacock is the retired executive vice-president of Fednav Limited, where he continues to serve on the board of directors. He is also on the board of Teekay Offshore Partners and is very active in The Peacock Family Foundation, which he established when he retired from Fednav.
Daphne Taras was named dean of the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University, as of July 1. Dr. Taras served as dean of the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan from 2010 to 2016. Prior to her move to Saskatoon in 2010, she was a professor at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and its associate dean of research and director of the PhD program.
Mount Royal University’s new director of the school of nursing and midwifery, since July 1, is Paula Price. During her 23 years at Mount Royal, Dr. Price has served as interim director for the school, acting chair for the advanced specialty health studies department, and an active scholar and teacher in the critical care nursing program. She is the current editor for the Canadian Journal of Critical Care Nursing and the Canadian Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing.
Dominic Barton is the University of Waterloo’s next chancellor. Mr. Barton stepped down as global managing partner of McKinsey & Company on July 1, after serving the maximum of three, three-year terms. He chairs the federal government’s advisory council on economic growth and is a trustee of the Brookings Institution, a member of the Singapore Economic Development Board’s International Advisory Council, and a board member at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.
MacEwan University appointed Myrna Khan the institution’s first vice-president, university relations. Ms. Khan was previously vice-president, resource development, at the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region. Since 2016, she served as head of external relations at the City of Edmonton.