Updates

Online consultations

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Faculty, staff and students are invited to join an online consultation session regarding the Presidential Search. 

Alan R. Abraham Jr., Chair of the Board of Governors and of the Presidential Search Committee, along with members of the Search Committee and Jane Griffith, Managing Partner of Griffith Group Executive Search, will host two sessions for faculty, staff, and students next week.

Please register for one of the sessions below, and we will send you a direct link to the Zoom event:

As the Presidential Search Committee prepares for first round interviews, we invite the community to provide comments on what success would look like for the new President and Vice-Chancellor at the end of year 1 and year 5.

The advertisements for the position of President and Vice-Chancellor were posted over the summer and can be seen here: https://griffithgroup.ca/smu-presvc/

Additional information is available on the Presidential Search webpage. If you have questions about the search process, please contact the University Secretary at board@smu.ca.

Thank you on behalf of the members of the Presidential Search Committee:

  • Al Abraham, Jr., Board Chair
  • Mark Gosine, K.C., Board Vice Chair
  • Anna Marenick, Board Member
  • Kim Doane, Board Member
  • Roddy Macdonald, Board Member
  • Erin Sargeant Greenwood, Vice President, Advancement & External Affairs
  • Jason Rhinelander, Board Member, Faculty Member
  • Simbarashe Chiunda, Board Member and President, SMUSA
  • Vivek Sood, Board Member, Alumnus
  • Suzanne van den Hoogen, University Librarian
  • Veronica Stinson, Faculty Member
  • Kai Ylijoki, Faculty Member

Position advertisement

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Dear SMU community,  

Thank you to those who responded to the recent Presidential Search Survey.  Your participation is very valuable to the Presidential Search Committee.

While the survey data is maintained in confidence by the search firm, the Committee met to review the themes that emerged from the survey consultation and to discuss the candidate brief and a draft advertisement.

The search firm, Griffith Group, launched the position advertisement on July 9, and will seek candidates over the coming months. You can read the advertisement here: Position Advertisement. The Committee will reconvene in September and looks forward to providing another update to the community in the Fall.

If you would like more information about the Presidential Search, please visit the Presidential Search webpage. If you have questions about the search process, please contact the University Secretary at board@smu.ca. 

Thank you on behalf of the members of the Presidential Search Committee:

  • Al Abraham, Jr., Board Chair
  • Mark Gosine, K.C., Board Vice Chair
  • Anna Marenick, Board Member
  • Kim Doane, Board Member
  • Roddy Macdonald, Board Member
  • Erin Sargeant Greenwood, Vice President, Advancement & External Affairs
  • Jason Rhinelander, Board Member, Faculty Member
  • Simbarashe Chiunda, Board Member and President, SMUSA
  • Vivek Sood, Board Member, Alumnus
  • Suzanne van den Hoogen, University Librarian
  • Veronica Stinson, Faculty Member
  • Kai Ylijoki, Faculty Member

Presidential search community survey

Thursday, June 13, 2024

Dear SMU community,  

Saint Mary’s University has retained Griffith Group to help the Presidential Search Committee in its efforts to select the next President and Vice-Chancellor of Saint Mary’s University.

The Griffith Group is conducting a survey to gather input from the university community to understand people’s views on the ideal candidate, the role, and the needs of the community. We invite you to complete this survey by the end-of-day, June 21, 2024: https://griffithgroup.limesurvey.net/222636?lang=en 

This survey is the first step in involving the community in this search process. It is the first time you will be asked for input, but there will be other opportunities. In the Fall, the Search Committee will conduct further consultations in other formats, including in-person sessions on campus. 

This survey is anonymous, which means nobody will ever be able to connect your name or identifying information with your responses, unless you provide identifying information.

Griffith Group will provide only a summary of results to the Search Committee (no raw data), to identify principal themes and for the purposes of finalizing a position profile, a description of the “ideal candidate”, and candidate interview questions. The survey data is destroyed once the mandate of the Search Committee has been fulfilled. 

We value your input and hope you will take a few minutes to share your views. 

If you would like more information about the Presidential Search, please visit the Presidential Search webpage. If you would like more information about this survey, please contact the University Secretary at board@smu.ca

Thank you.  

Claire E. Milton, K.C., ICD.D
University Secretary & General Counsel
Privacy Officer
Saint Mary's University