Mike DeGagné, formerly the president and vice chancellor of Yukon University, has taken on a new role as the president and CEO of Indspire, a national Indigenous-led charity that provides postsecondary education funding for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in Canada. Before taking on the president role at Yukon U on July 1 this year, Dr. DeGagné served as the president and vice chancellor of Nipissing University for seven years.
Veterinary researcher, educator and administrator Baljit Singh is returning to the University of Saskatchewan as its vice-president, research, on Feb. 1, 2021. Currently, Dr. Singh is the dean of veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary, a position he’s held since 2016. Before this, he spent 17 years at U of S, including several years as associate dean of research for the university’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Singh, who has obtained veterinary credentials in Canada and the United States, is a 3M National Teaching Fellow. He has also received the Provost’s Prize for Innovative Practice of Teaching and Learning at U of S, the university’s Master Teacher Award, and the Carl J. Norden Distinguished Teacher Award.
Ran Lewin is York University’s first assistant vice-president, budgets and asset managements. Mr. Lewin joined York in 2003 as a senior auditor in the university’s internal audit department and was promoted to director, internal audit, in 2012. In 2019, he was appointed director of budgets and planning, and in July of this year became interim assistant vice-president, finance, and chief financial officer. He began his new role on Sept. 21.
Rhonda McEwen, associate professor and director of the University of Toronto Mississauga’s Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology, has been appointed vice-president and principal’s special advisor on anti-racism and equity at UTM. Dr. McEwen, who moved to Canada from Trinidad and Tobago 18 years ago, has been involved with numerous equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus, including Visions of Science, which engages youth from low-income or marginalized communities in STEM subjects.
York University appointed Robert Savage dean of the university’s faculty of education, beginning July 1, 2021. He will join York from University College London, where he served as a full professor and as head of the department of psychology and human development. Before this, Dr. Savage worked at McGill University, where he held several administrative roles, including program director, inclusive education, and program director, human development.
Michael Di Grappa took on the newly named role of vice-president, services and sustainability, formerly called vice-president of services, at Concordia University on Oct. 1. Di Grappa comes to Concordia from Canderel, where he held the position of senior vice-president of property management since 2016. He is a Concordia alumnus and spent his first 24 years of his career there in roles including vice-president of services and interim president, and later served as vice-principal, administration and finance, at McGill University.
Concordia University welcomes Sandra Margolian as the university’s first public art lead. Ms. Margolian, who has previously been employed at Concordia’s office of community engagement, will work to ensure the ongoing care of the university’s permanent collection. During her time at Concordia, Ms. Margolian has been involved in projects such as the Grey Nuns Chapel Reading Room, Quartier Concordia and the Public Art project. She also coordinated 23 of the 33 public installations on campus and, in 2012, created Concordia’s public art program with the support of facilities management.
Simon Fraser University announced that Andrew Gemino will serve as dean, pro tem, for the university’s Beedie School of Business from Sept. 28, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2021. Dr. Gemino, a professor in management information systems and innovation and entrepreneurship, has served as associate dean for graduate programs at the business school since 2017 and previously served as associate dean of the undergraduate program.
Royal Roads University announced Veronica Thompson as the university’s new vice-president, academic, and provost. Dr. Thompson is currently the dean of the faculty of humanities and social sciences, and an associate professor of English, at Athabasca University. Previously, she served in a variety of academic and administrative roles at the University of Calgary, Mount Royal College (now Mount Royal University) and Red Deer College. Her new appointment begins on Jan. 1, 2021.
On Aug. 1, Roberta Iannacito-Provenzano became the new vice-provost, faculty affairs, at Ryerson University. Dr. Iannacito-Provenzano joins Ryerson from York University, where she served as associate dean, faculty affairs, in the faculty of liberal arts and professional studies. Along with her new vice-provost position, she also holds an appointment as professor in Ryerson’s department of languages, literatures and cultures in the faculty of arts.
Tony White is OCAD University’s new university librarian, as of Sept. 28. Mr. White joins OCAD U from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where he served as the Florence and Herbert Irving Associate Chief Librarian. Before this, he was director of the Decker Library at the Maryland Institute College of Art, head of the Fine Arts Library and director, specialization art librarianship, at Indiana University, Bloomington.
Trent University appointed Katie Taylor its first CEO-in-residence of the university’s business school. Ms. Taylor began her new role on Sept. 29. As the CEO-in-residence, she will mentor and engage with students through online and in-person lectures, panel discussions and residency periods split between the university’s Peterborough and Durham campuses. Ms. Taylor became the first woman to chair the board of a major Canadian bank when she became the Royal Bank of Canada’s board chair in 2014. She is the former president and CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and former chair of the Sick Kids Foundation.
Ryerson University welcomed Isaac Garcia-Sitton as the its inaugural executive director, international student enrolment, education and inclusion, on Sept. 7. In this new role, Mr. Garcia-Sitton will lead the policy, planning, infrastructure and operations aimed at increasing international enrolment and retention of students. He comes to Ryerson from York University, where he was the director of international education and the English Language Institute in York’s school of continuing studies. He previously served as a diplomat for Panama at its consulate in New Orleans and as the consul general of Panama in Montreal from 2007-2009.
Zena Mitchell has been re-appointed university registrar at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Her new term runs from Nov. 1, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2025. Ms. Mitchell, a KPU alumna, first worked in the university’s marketing and communications department, then moved to the office of the registrar as director, registrar services, in 2008. She was first appointed university registrar in November 2015.