St. Paul’s University College appoints Lloyd Axworthy as first Chancellor

St. Paul’s University College at the University of Waterloo is pleased to announce the appointment of Lloyd Axworthy as its first chancellor.

Currently president and vice-chancellor at the University of Winnipeg, Axworthy has had a distinguished career in academia, and is recognized as a Canadian statesman and respected politician. For 27 years, Axworthy served in public office, six of which he served in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly and 21 in the federal parliament. He held several cabinet positions during that time, including Minister of Foreign Affairs. He has received international recognition for his work in the advancement of the human security concept, particularly the Ottawa Treaty, a global treaty banning anti-personnel landmines.

Lloyd Axworthy

“It is a great honour to join the close-knit St. Paul’s community -- a place that feels familiar, with its strong history and commitment to social justice and to nurturing in students a sense of purpose and place in the world,’ said Axworthy. “I share St. Paul’s mission to reach and include a wide diversity of students and to offer relevant, community-focused programs and services.”

Upon leaving public office in 2000, Axworthy became Director and CEO of the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia prior to joining the University of Winnipeg in 2004. In 2010, he was made an honourary member of the Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba and given an Ojibwe name, Waapshki Pinaysee Inini, which translates to White Thunderbird Man.

In his role as first chancellor to St. Paul’s University College, he will be a member of its Board of Governors. "We are thrilled that he took such great interest in our mission and has accepted to be part of the St. Paul’s community,” said Graham Brown, principal of St. Paul’s. “We are looking forward to the impact that such a distinguished humanitarian brings as our inaugural chancellor.”

Axworthy’s work at the University of Winnipeg has focused on campus renewal and its surrounding urban community with the view to making post-secondary education more accessible to students who are from the inner-city, Aboriginal, recent immigrants, or refugees. He has also expanded the university’s outreach in the areas of Aboriginal education, environmental studies and human rights.

Axworthy was the Stanley Knowles Humanitarian Lecturer at the University of Waterloo campus in 2012. The installation will take place in the fall of 2014.

For more information on Lloyd Axworthy, please consult his biography.

About St. Paul’s University College

St. Paul's University College offers academic courses, residences and practical learning opportunities to students at the University of Waterloo. We are an affiliated institution of the University and provide a unique learning environment that educates social innovators to shape a just and humane world. The Waterloo Aboriginal Education Centre is located at St. Paul’s as is the unique St. Paul's GreenHouse program in social innovation. St. Paul's shares the delivery of the International Development programs at Waterloo, and offers courses in world religions as part of the University's Department of Religious Studies.

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