Media Releases
Former Canadian ambassador to China David Mulroney appointed president of the University of St. Michael’s College
April 23, 2015
TORONTO, ON – The Collegium of the University of St. Michael’s College is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. David Mulroney (7T8), as the 7th president and vice-chancellor of the University of St. Michael’s College (USMC). Mr. Mulroney, who officially takes up his duties July 1, 2015, succeeds Professor Anne Anderson, C.S.J., who served with distinction as president from 2008–2015 and was the first woman to hold that office.
A distinguished senior fellow at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, Mr. Mulroney was a career foreign service officer whose senior appointments culminated in his service as the ambassador of Canada to the People’s Republic of China from 2009–2012. During his time in Beijing, he worked to have education identified as one of a limited number of priorities for Canada-China cooperation, and the Canadian embassy came to be known by Chinese officials as an “education embassy.”
His book about Canada-China relations, Middle Power, Middle Kingdom, was published by Penguin Canada in March, 2015. He was also co-author of Canada’s Asia Challenge: Creating Competence for the Next Generation of Canadians, a report published in 2013 by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.
As well as his current duties at the Munk School of Global Affairs, Mr. Mulroney is also a distinguished fellow of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, and an honorary fellow of the University of St. Michael’s College.
Prior to his appointment to Beijing, Mr. Mulroney was assigned to the Privy Council Office in Ottawa as the deputy minister responsible for the Afghanistan Task Force, overseeing inter-departmental coordination of all aspects of Canada’s engagement in Afghanistan. He also served as secretary to the Independent Panel on Canada’s Future Role in Afghanistan (“the Manley Panel”). Mr. Mulroney’s other assignments included serving as associate deputy minister of foreign affairs and, concurrently, as the Prime Minister’s personal representative to the G8 Summit. Immediately prior to that, he served as foreign and defence policy advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada. A career foreign service officer, Mr. Mulroney had a series of senior appointments in the Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa, including four years as Canada’s senior official for Asia Pacific Cooperation (APEC). He served on overseas assignments in Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Seoul. From 1995 to 1998 he was executive director of the Canada-China Business Council.
Quotes:
“As chair of the Collegium of USMC, I am pleased to join in announcing the appointment of Mr. David Mulroney as the next President of the University,” said Rev. Donald McLeod, C.S.B. “Mr. Mulroney is a distinguished alumnus of USMC who brings to the position both a wealth of experience in the Canadian Foreign Service and a thorough grasp of the essential characteristics of Catholic higher education and of the critical and important role that it plays in the context of the larger public University, and indeed in society as a whole.”
“On behalf of the entire University of Toronto community, I congratulate David Mulroney on his appointment as president of the University of St. Michael’s College, and I congratulate the Collegium on its truly brilliant choice,” said Meric Gertler, president of the University of Toronto. “St. Michael’s has a distinguished history and a vital mission, and it makes a rich and unique contribution to our academic federation. I very much look forward to collaborating with Mr. Mulroney in the years to come. I would also like to take this opportunity to offer thanks and best wishes to Professor Anne Anderson, on the completion of her exemplary service as president.”
President Designate Mulroney said, “I am deeply honoured and tremendously excited to be leading St. Michael’s, a storied, inspiring and dynamic Catholic institution that sits at the heart of a great global university. I look forward to helping its students prepare for lives of leadership and service in their communities, their countries and the world.”
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For more information, contact:
Melanie Waring-Chapman
416–926-2248
melanie.waring.chapman@utoronto.ca