The University of Waterloo is appointing Dominic Barton as the institution’s 11th chancellor.
The University of Waterloo is appointing Dominic Barton, global managing partner of McKinsey & Company as the institution’s 11th chancellor.
Barton steps down as the global leader of McKinsey on July 1, after serving the maximum of three, three-year terms. In his role at McKinsey, Barton provides strategic advice to national leaders, government and corporations. In addition to leading McKinsey since 2008, Barton also chairs the Government of Canada’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth.
In May 2015, Barton joined Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor at the University of Waterloo, and other government, business and academic leaders across the globe in committing his organization to the UN Women’s HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 gender equity initiative.
“Dominic Barton is renowned for his strategic insights and expert guidance on business, governance and economic development,” said Hamdullahpur. “We are inspired by Dominic’s commitment to creating positive global change and to equity and inclusivity which in many ways complement our University’s record of innovation and aspirations to make a global impact.”
Elected by the University’s Senate to a three-year term, the chancellor presides over convocation ceremonies, conferring degrees, diplomas and certificates on graduating students. He also serves as a leading ambassador for the University.
In addition to his work with McKinsey and the Government of Canada, Barton is a trustee of the Brookings Institution, a member of the Singapore Economic Development Board’s International Advisory Council, a board member at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York and the Asia Pacific Foundation Canada.
He is also a Rhodes trustee and an honorary fellow at Brasenose College in Oxford England.
Born in Uganda and a Ugandan and Canadian citizen, Barton received a BA Honours in economics from the University of British Columbia and studied as a Rhodes scholar at Brasenose College at the University of Oxford.
Barton is the author of more than 80 articles and several books ranging from the role of business in society to leadership and talent development. He is a recipient of the INSEAD Business Leader for the World Award (2011), the Korean Order of Civil Merit (Peony Medal, 2013), the Singaporean Public Service Star (2014), the Foreign Policy Association Corporate Social Responsibility Award (2017), and Canada’s Public Policy Forum Testimonial Award (2017).
Barton succeeds Tom Jenkins as chancellor. Jenkins, Chair of OpenText Corporation and Chair of the National Research Council, served as chancellor for three years from May 1, 2015.
Past chancellors of the University of Waterloo include Prem Watsa, chair of Fairfax Holdings, Mike Lazaridis, co-founder of BlackBerry and Valentine O’Donovan, founder of COM DEV Intl.
University of Waterloo is Canada’s top innovation university. With more than 36,000 students we are home to the world's largest co-operative education system of its kind. Our unmatched entrepreneurial culture, combined with an intensive focus on research, powers one of the top innovation hubs in the world. Find out more at uwaterloo.ca
Matthew Grant, BA, MJ
University of Waterloo
Director, Media Relations
Cell: 226-929-7627
