Dr. Lorna Marsden, who has served as President and Vice-Chancellor of York University since 1997, will retire from the university when her term ends on June 30, 2007.

The search for a president at York is the responsibility of the Board of Governors in consultation with the University Senate.  In accordance with established guidelines, the presidential search committee is made up of 14 full-voting members, drawn from York’s community of students, faculty, staff, governors and alumni. Seven committee members are selected by the Board of Governors and seven by the University Senate. Members of the presidential search committee will seek a president whose leadership skills, interests and background meet the needs of York and serve the university well into the future.

The members of the presidential search committee are as follows:

Marshall Cohen, Chair of the Search Committee (Governor and Alumnus), was appointed to the Board of Governors in 1987 and became Chair in 2000. He is a member of the Board of the York University Development Corporation and the University Senate. He earned his law degrees from Osgoode Hall Law School and was awarded an honorary doctorate by York University in 1986. Mr. Cohen has had a distinguished career in both the public and private sectors and is Counsel to the law firm Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP.

Patricia Bradshaw (Faculty), is an Associate Professor in Organizational Behaviour at the Schulich School of Business and is the current Chair of Senate. Former roles include Director of the MBA Program, Treasurer of the York University Faculty Association and Chair of the Senate Committee on Admissions, Recruitment and Student Assistance. Her research interests include corporate governance, power and social change.

Paul Cantor (Governor), was appointed to the Board of Governors in 1998 and is the Chair of the Nominations and Governance Committee, and a member of the Executive and Finance & Staff Resources Committees.  He is the Chair of the Canadian Advisory Committee of the global executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates, having previously been the Chair of Russell Reynolds Associates, Canada, and before that the Managing Partner for Canada.

Imogen Coe (Faculty), is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science & Engineering.  She is the Chair of the Department, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Biological Safety and has been a member of numerous departmental and Faculty committees. Professor Coe is a leading life scientist in the study of cancer treatment drugs, who was awarded the Premier’s Research Excellence Award in 2000.

Susan Dimock (Faculty), is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts. She has been a member of the Senate Academic Policy and Planning Committee (APPC), the Executive of McLaughlin College, a Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on the Administration of the Agreement, and President of the York University Faculty Association.  Professor Dimock’s research is in the area of ethics and political/legal philosophy.

Joanne Duklas (Non-Academic Staff and Alumna), is the Acting Registrar of the University. She has a long standing affiliation with the York community, first as a student and then as an employee.  Ms. Duklas completed two degrees at York, a B.A. and an M.B.A.

Seth Feldman (Faculty), is a full Professor in the Department of Film & Video, Faculty of Fine Arts, and he holds the honorific title of University Professor. He is the Director of the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, and has served as Associate Dean and Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts.  Professor Feldman has also chaired and been a member of several search committees at the University, and has been a member of Senate and Senate Committees. He has also served as President of the Film Studies Association of Canada and Chair of the Canadian Association of Fine Arts Deans.

Michael Ferman (Undergraduate student), has served on Senate since 2002-2003, is a member of the Board of Governors and the Faculty of Arts Student Council. He is co-chair of the Student Issues Roundtable, a member of the Senate Committee on Libraries and Information Technology and the Senate Appeals Committee. 

Zahir Janmohamed (Governor), was appointed to the Board of Governors in 2003 and serves on the Academic Resources and Audit Committees, and the Nominating Sub-Committee.  He is currently Vice- President, Human Resources with the Mount Pleasant Group. Mr. Janmohamed is the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Hincks Dellcrest Center and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Toronto Human Resources Professionals Association. 

Eileen Mercier (Governor and Alumna) was appointed to the Board of Governors in 1996 and is the Vice-Chair of the Board, Chair of the Land Use Committee, a member of the Nominating Sub-Committee and a member of the Executive and Finance & Staff Resources Committees. Ms. Mercier is the President of Finvoy Management Limited, which specializes in financial strategy, funds management, restructuring and corporate governance issues. She serves on several not-for-profit and corporation boards.

Kim Michasiw (Faculty), is an Associate Professor in the Department of English, Faculty of Arts. He is the Chair of the Department and Coordinator of the Joint York-Seneca Program in Professional Writing. He was the Chair of Senate APPC in 2004-05 and Chair of the working group on the development of a Faculty of Health. Within the Faculty of Arts he has served as Vice-Chair and then Chair of Faculty Council and on a wide variety of Faculty-level committees.

Elizabeth Saati (Graduate student), is a student at Osgoode Hall Law School and holds an Honours B.A. from York. Elizabeth was a University Senator and a member of the Faculty of Arts Council from 2001-2005, and a member of the Senate Executive Committee and the Faculty of Arts Executive Committee in 2003-2005.  She was a member of the search committee for the Assistant Vice-President Student Affairs in the Division of the Vice-President Students. Ms. Saati was nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship and has been recognized by the Vice-President Students for academic excellence and involvement at York.

Sam Schwartz (Governor and Alumnus), was appointed to the Board of Governors of York University in 2002.  He is the Chair of the Academic Resources Committee and a member of the Finance & Staff Resources and Executive Committees. He obtained an M.A. and an LLB at York. Mr Schwartz is a Senior Partner with the law firm Goodman and Carr LLP in Toronto.

David Tsubouchi (Governor and Alumnus), was appointed to the Board of Governors in 2004 and serves on the Audit Committee, the Pension Fund Board of Trustees and the Sub-Committee on Investment Performance. Mr. Tsubouchi is a York alumnus, receiving both a B.A. and an LLB from York. He has a 15 year history in public service which includes posts in the provincial Cabinet and is Counsel at Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP.

Updates and announcements on the search process will be regularly posted on the Presidential Search Committee website. Click here.

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city.  The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 190,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 21 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries.  This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

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Nancy J. White

Director, Media Relations

York University

416-736-5603

whiten@yorku.ca