(Wolfville, N.S.) -- Ron Smith, Chair of the Board of Governors of Acadia University, today announced that Ray Ivany has been appointed President and Vice-Chancellor of Acadia University. Ivany’s six-year term will begin April 1, 2009.
“On behalf of the entire Acadia community, I want to congratulate Ray and welcome him to Acadia,” said Smith. “Our Search Committee did an excellent job from start to finish and its recommendation was unanimously endorsed by our Board. Ray has the ideal combination of proven leadership ability, experience in Nova Scotia’s post-secondary environment, and enthusiasm for building relationships that will ensure Acadia maintains its reputation as one of Canada’s leading primarily undergraduate universities.”
Originally from Sydney, Nova Scotia, Ivany is currently Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia and a Principal of the consulting firm Ivany and Associates. He is also a board member of the Canadian Council on Learning, the Halifax Prior Learning Assessment Centre, and the Leading Edge Endowment Fund B.C. Regional Innovation Chair program.
Between 1998 and 2005, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Nova Scotia Community College and, prior to that, served as Executive Vice-President at the University College of Cape Breton.
“I am deeply honoured to have been chosen as Acadia’s 15th President,” said Ivany. “My visits to campus during the selection process confirmed my long-held belief that Acadia is more than simply the sum of its parts. Its combination of rich history and tradition, outstanding faculty and staff, spirited and inspired students, and dedicated and loyal alumni make it a truly unique institution that offers students an exceptional university experience. I am looking forward to working with both the Acadia and Annapolis Valley communities to build upon Acadia’s historic strengths and to capitalize on new and emerging opportunities.”
Ivany has a long history of executive leadership and community involvement in Nova Scotia and across Canada. During his tenure at NSCC, he led a period of transformational change, rapid growth in enrolment, and major expansion of campus infrastructure that has made the school one of Canada’s most highly-regarded college systems. Ivany has also advised various levels of government through appointments to the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, Ontario Investing in Students Taskforce, and the Nova Scotia Premier’s Fiscal Management Taskforce. He has also served as a board member of the Greater Halifax Partnership, Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation, Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Atlantic Provinces Community College Consortium, and the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission.
His achievements have earned Ivany several awards of distinction. He was granted an Honourary Doctor of Letters from St. Thomas University in 2006; named to Maclean’s Honour Roll of Top Ten Canadians Who Made a Difference in 2004; and made the Halifax Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year in 2004. He has been four times named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEOs. He is a graduate of the College of Cape Breton, earned a Master of Science degree from East Tennessee State University, and was a research fellow in the School of Public Health at Harvard University. |
