Nipissing University announces new female President

Today Nipissing University announced who the next President and Vice-Chancellor will be for the institution. Perhaps along the same lines of the hopeful change inspired by current President-elect of the US Barack Obama, this NU appointment breaks ground in what some groups would term "shattering the glass ceiling." Nipissing's next President will be female. Dr. Leslie Lovett-Doust will be moving to North Bay this year in time for a July 1st start. She is moving from Michigan Tech where she was Provost and VP Academic Affairs. Prior to that she was a dean of Lakehead University. Plus, she's also a Scot!

Lovett-Doust will be succeeding current President Dr. Dennis Mock; a familiar and always smiling face on campus. Prior to this new appointment NU had 4 Presidents, all of whom were male. Dr. George Zytaruk is the founding President of NU who was later succeeded by Dr. Anthony Blackbourn. Dr. David Marshall, former Dean of Education, became President for a number of years and was succeeded by Mock.

The new President faces many challenges and opportunities coming into the job. A new visioning process will be initiated where the institution, through individuals and groups, will ask itself what it wants to look like in 5-10 years. Currently, NU prides itself on being a primarily undergraduate university with strategically developed graduate programs (an M.Ed and an MA in History) and with more on the way. Along with many build projects that will transform the physical look of our campus, the President will be the one to guide the institution through the next 5 years of development and excellence. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Lovett-Doust (pictured below) to the Presidency!