Appointment notice - Vice-Principal (Inter-Institutional Relations)

I am delighted to announce that Michael Goldbloom will serve as the next Vice-Principal (Inter-Institutional Relations) of McGill University, effective January 3, 2007, and that the Board of Governors endorsed a motion to that effect at its meeting yesterday. Mr. Goldbloom has also been appointed as Senior Fellow in Media and Public Policy with the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC) and Media@McGill.

Mr. Goldbloom, who earlier this month stepped down as Publisher of the Toronto Star, Canada's largest newspaper, is well known to Quebecers as the former Publisher of The Gazette, from 1994 to 2001. He is looking forward to returning to his home town and alma mater to contribute to the cause of higher education and the advancement of knowledge.

In the expanded role of Vice-Principal (Inter-Institutional Relations), Mr. Goldbloom will lead McGill's relations with the federal, Quebec and municipal governments and will be McGill's chief liaison with other organizations and public institutions. His responsibilities include initiatives to enhance partnerships with governments and other organizations at all levels in a manner that advances the University's mission and profile.

Mr. Goldbloom brings to McGill outstanding leadership abilities and a strong sense of the special role that McGill does and can play in Quebec and within the national and international arenas. For McGill to continue to compete with the very best in the world, we must strengthen our networks and resources. He will play a critical role in helping McGill achieve these goals.

He began his career as a labour lawyer at Martineau Walker, now Fasken Martineau (1981-91), and then served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Montreal YMCA (1991-94). After leaving the Gazette in 2001, he spent a year as a Visiting Scholar at MISC, where he organized and co-chaired a major national conference on Canadian media. He joined the Toronto Star as Deputy Publisher in 2003 and became the Publisher in 2004.

Mr. Goldbloom has a distinguished record of community leadership. He was President of Alliance Quebec and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ville Marie Social Services Centre and of Selwyn House School in Montreal. He also served on the founding Board of Directors of the Batshaw Youth and Family Centres and as a member of the Quebec selection committee for the Rhodes Scholarship.

Mr. Goldbloom's ties to McGill run deep. Four generations of his family have attended the University. He earned two degrees from McGill: Bachelor of Civil Law in 1978 and a Bachelor of Common Law in 1979. He was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1981. He also studied at Harvard University from 1970-74, earning a degree in Modern European History and Literature, and at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris.

Please join with me in welcoming him into this critical role, and join me in committing to work with him to achieve McGill's greatest ambitions, and in service to the people of Quebec and Canada.

Regards,

Heather Munroe-Blum
Principal and Vice-Chancellor