Emily Carr University Announces New President
/The following is excerpted from a release from Emily Carr University of Art + Design.
Dr. Gillian Siddall. | Image: Emily Carr University of Art + Design.
The board of governors of Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECU) has named Dr. Gillian Siddall as the University’s next president and vice-chancellor.
The appointment marks the culmination of a year-long search by ECU’s presidential search committee, guided by the international recruitment firm Caldwell Partners. The 14-member Search Committee comprised representatives from across the University, and included students, faculty, staff, alumni and a member of the Indigenous community at ECU.
“I am thrilled at the prospect of being the President and Vice-Chancellor,” Dr. Siddall said. “I welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively with the people of ECU to help advance the priorities that they’ve already identified around decolonization; trans-disciplinary learning, research, and creative practice; social justice; and innovation. There are a lot of exciting things happening at Emily Carr, and it will be wonderful to be part of that.”
Dr. Siddall holds an Honours BA and MA in English from the University of Guelph and a PhD in English from the University of Western Ontario. She began her career as a sessional lecturer at the University of Guelph before accepting a tenure-track appointment at Lakehead University in 1998. There she went on to become the founding director of the Teaching and Learning Centre, and then dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. Her research area is Canadian literature, and she has published extensively on the subject of musical improvisation, both within and outside a literary context.
Dr. Siddall succeeds Dr. Ron Burnett, who has served as ECU’s president since 1996. Dr. Burnett will be stepping down from the position on July 31, 2018. Dr. Siddall’s term commences September 1, 2018.
Michael Clifford, VP, finance + administration, and Bonne Zabolotney, VP academic + provost, have agreed to serve as co-interim presidents from August 1 until Dr. Siddall’s arrival.
