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President of Huron

Dr. Barry Craig began his term as Huron’s seventeenth President on July 1, 2016.

As President, Dr. Barry Craig reports to the Board of Governors of Huron. The following positions report directly to the President:

  •     Dan Smith, PhD, Dean, Faculty of Theology
  •     Geoff Read, PhD, Provost and Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Science
  •     Lisa Jones Keenan, Chief Operating Officer
  •     Nadir Patel, Strategic Advisor to the President
  •     Sarah Noad, Chief Strategy Officer
  •     Scott Durnin, Vice-President, Infrastructure & Facilities

The Executive Assistant to the President and the Board of Governors is Anne Turvey.

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About the President

Dr. Barry Craig began his term as Huron’s seventeenth President on July 1, 2016. Following more than 250 one-on-one conversations with faculty, staff, alumni, students, community leaders and donors, Dr. Craig announced a new vision for Huron which both set an exciting course for future growth and distinguished Huron from other Canadian universities.

Key elements of Huron’s new direction include the mission of developing Leaders with Heart, which challenges Huron students to develop both intellectually and ethically through a combination of rigorous academic work and community engagement. Every Huron student is asked to volunteer in the community. This is not for credit and there is no pay. It is simply designed to develop empathy and leadership skills in our students. Additionally, every Huron student has the opportunity to experience a paid internship in the industry of their choice.

“Challenging students to be leaders with heart is the foundation of Huron’s mission and the crux of what makes Huron such a unique institution,” Dr. Craig explains. “Underpinning this is an ethical foundation that stresses corporate social responsibility, service to the community, and social justice. Students in all programs are engaged in community service, active community- based learning, mentorships and internships, to complement their academic activities. Being part of the Huron community means contributing to the wider world; it means being a leader with heart from day one.”

Since launching this new vision in September 2017, first year enrolment at Huron has doubled, students identifying Huron as their first choice in university applications have increased 400%, and admission standards have been raised to be among the highest in Canada. To support the goals of inclusive education, Dr. Craig and his wife, Dr. Sara MacDonald, have established and personally funded new scholarships for Indigenous students, people of colour, and students facing economic hardship.

Dr. Craig holds a BA from the University of Kings College, an MA from Dalhousie University, and a PhD from the University of Wales. Dr. Craig has extensive experience in curriculum, program, and policy development and has published several books, including Apostle to the Wilderness: Bishop John Medley and the Evolution of the Anglican Church (2005); Recovering Hegel from the Critique of Leo Strauss: The Virtues of Modernity (2014); Recollecting Dante’s Divine Comedy in the Novels of Mark Helprin: The Love that Moves the Sun and the Other Stars (2015); Fate and Freedom in the Novels of David Adams Richards (2017); and, The Coen Brothers and the Comedy of Democracy (2018). The last four of these books have been co- written with Dr. MacDonald. He was co-chair of the Congress for the Humanities and Social Sciences in 2011. He has received numerous awards for both his teaching and his research. He has served on several government commissions and task forces and is the recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

VIEW HURON’S STRATEGIC PLAN

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