This message was circulated to graduate students, faculty and staff on February 13, 2014.
I am delighted to announce that Logan Atkinson has been named University Secretary & General Counsel at the University of Waterloo, effective January 1, 2014.
Logan was appointed secretary of the university in January 2012 and began working at Waterloo in July of that year. He was formerly university secretary at Carleton University in Ottawa, and an associate professor in that university’s Department of Law.
As a member of the senior administrative team, the University Secretary & General Counsel will continue to provide advice and guidance on effective university governance for the Board of Governors, the Senate, and the executive group. His portfolio of responsibilities also includes coordinating internal audits and risk management, and overseeing the office responsible for policing, conflict management and human rights, equity, safety, and records management.
Logan’s depth of experience as a lawyer, educator and university administrator will serve him well in his enhanced role as University Secretary & General Counsel.
Concurrently, with my support the University of Waterloo’s Senate and Board of Governors have approved the change in name of the Secretariat to “Secretariat & Office of General Counsel.”
While the Secretariat has for many years exercised responsibility for managing the university’s legal affairs, only in the last year have its personnel been licensed to practice law. Currently, four members of the Secretariat & Office of General Counsel, including Logan Atkinson, are fully licensed, with a fifth receiving a limited license in January of this year. As a result, the Secretariat & Office of General Counsel is now well-equipped to perform the services of legal counsel to the university.
This is a fundamental and positive evolution in the department’s functional responsibility. The Secretariat & Office of General Counsel has authority and responsibility for managing our university’s legal risk and will provide legal advice, legal opinions, and other legal services to the university. As lawyers, the Secretariat & Office of General Counsel’s legal staff have an enhanced ethical responsibility, are governed by an independent regulator, and are supervised through the auspices of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Logan and his department will continue their tradition of providing excellent service to the university and its members. I am confident that we will benefit from the enhanced services the Secretariat & Office of General Counsel will provide.
Sincerely,
Feridun Hamdullahpur
President and Vice-Chancellor