Dean's Advisory Council

Leaders in industry and academia

The Dean’s Advisory Council (DAC) is comprised of leaders in industry and academia who provide a valued outside perspective, furthering Waterloo Engineering's mission of education, research and knowledge transfer.

Members are formally invited by the Dean of Engineering to serve for a two-year renewable term.

As a bridge to the engineering and business community, the Dean's Advisory Council provides valuable advice to the Faculty on its Strategic Plan and its members serve as ambassadors and advocates, communicating the Faculty’s goals, programs and achievements to industry, government and the general public. The Council meets twice a year.

Council Members are engaged in the following areas of focus, pertaining to the Faculty's interface with the engineering and business community, including, but not limited to:

• Research and educational partnerships
• Philanthropic partnerships
• Academic programs
• Advocacy and government

Chair - Art Church

President and Chief Executive Officer, Mancor Industries

Art Church has been President and CEO of Mancor Industries since 1997, an OEM component supplier to the mid-volume heavy wheeled vehicle industry which includes trucks, rail and off-highway equipment. Prior to joining Mancor in 1996, Art was President and CEO of Champion Road Machinery Ltd., now owned by Volvo, which designed and provided road building equipment to over 95 countries. 

A graduate of the University of Waterloo, Art received a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1976.  He also received his MBA from McMaster University in 1984. 

Vice Chair - Ray Tanguay

Ray retired as the Chair of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. (TMMC) in 2015. Under his exceptional stewardship, TMMC became the first Toyota manufacturing plant outside of Japan to produce Lexus vehicles, beginning in 2003. In 2012, TMMC announced that in addition to increasing production of the Lexus RX350, it would also begin building the RX450h, the hybrid version of the popular Lexus vehicle.  

In 2015, Ray was named the chair of a subcommittee of the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council, an industry-led organization formed in September 2002 to address the key competitive issues facing the automotive industry.

In 1972, Ray graduated from St. Clair College in electrical engineering technology, and in 1983, graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in business management.  In 2012, Ray received an honourary Doctorate of Laws from Laurier University and an honourary Doctorate of Engineering from the University of Waterloo.​