Office of the President
EdD, University of Toronto
MA, University of Windsor
BEd, University of Toronto
BA, St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto
P: 519-884-8111 x 28253
Biography
Dr. Peter M. Meehan is President and Vice Chancellor of St. Jerome’s University in the University of Waterloo, where he provides leadership in advancing the institution’s mission and its strategic goal of becoming Canada’s premier Catholic undergraduate university. A historian, educator, and senior academic administrator, he has dedicated his career to strengthening Catholic higher education, fostering student success, and promoting the liberal arts as a foundation for leadership, citizenship, and service.
Raised in Toronto and educated at St. Michael’s College School, Dr. Meehan holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto, a Master of Arts in History from the University of Windsor, a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto, and a doctorate in the history of education from the University of Toronto. His doctoral research examined the history of the Ontario School Tax Question and the movement for equitable funding of Catholic education.
Prior to joining St. Jerome’s University, Dr. Meehan served as President and Vice Chancellor of St. Mark’s and Corpus Christi Colleges at the University of British Columbia. He also served as Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Academic Partnerships at Seneca College, where he helped develop innovative college-university pathways and some of Ontario’s most successful transfer agreements. A past Chair of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in Canada, throughout his administrative career, he has been recognized for leadership in academic planning, governance, institutional growth, and cross-sector collaboration.
A respected scholar of Canadian Catholic history, Dr. Meehan’s research focuses on Catholic education, Church-state relations, the history of the Catholic Church in Canada, and the impact of the Second Vatican Council. He has published in scholarly journals, edited collections, encyclopedias, and Catholic publications, and has written extensively on Catholic social and educational movements and the development of Catholic institutions in Canada. His current major research project is a scholarly biography of Archbishop Philip Pocock, one of the most influential Canadian Catholic leaders of the twentieth century.
Dr. Meehan has taught at the Toronto School of Theology, Seneca College, St. Mark’s College at the University of British Columbia, and St. Jerome’s University. A frequent lecturer and conference presenter, he has also served as President of the Canadian Catholic Historical Association and Editor of Historical Studies.
At St. Jerome’s University, Dr. Meehan brings together scholarly expertise, administrative experience, and a deep commitment to the Catholic intellectual tradition. His leadership reflects a conviction that Catholic universities play an essential role in preparing students not only for professional success but also for lives of purpose, service, and engagement with the common good.
Publications
The content that follows may only represent a portion of my work.
Manuscripts
Meehan, Peter M. “To know God and to make God known”: The Life of Philip Pocock, Seventh Archbishop of Toronto (in progress - commissioned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto).
- “Counted but they don’t count”: The Lay Fight for Ontario’s Separate Schools, 1929-1939. (unpublished)
Chapters/edited volumes
Meehan, Peter M. “Renewal and Reform: Philip Pocock, Seventh Archbishop of Toronto” in Séamus Hogan, Extraordinary Ordinaries: A History of the Bishops of Toronto. Ottawa: Novalis. 2018.
- “’The lesser of two evils’? Archbishop Philip Pocock, Vatican II and the Birth Control Controversy” in Michael Attridge, Catherine E. Clifford and Gilles Routhier, eds., Vatican II – Canadian Experiences. University of Ottawa Press. 2011.
Meehan, Peter M. and McGahan, Elizabeth, eds. Historical Studies, Vols. 71-73. Ottawa: Historia Ecclesiae Catholicae Canadensis Publications Inc., 2005-2007.
Lebrun, Richard A. and Meehan, Peter M. eds. Historical Studies, Vols. 69-70. Ottawa: Historia Ecclesiae Catholicae Canadensis Publications Inc., 2002-2004.
Meehan, Peter M., ed. The Political Economy of Canada [Selected Readings]. Toronto. Nelson Thompson Learning. 2001 [second edition 2003; third edition 2006].
Refereed articles
Meehan, Peter M. ’Purified Socialism’ and the Church in Saskatchewan: Tommy Douglas, Philip Pocock and Hospitalization, 1944-1948” in Historical Studies, Vol. 77, Canadian Catholic Historical Association, 2011.
- "The East Hastings By-election of 1936 and the Ontario Separate Schools Tax Question” in Historical Studies, Volume 68, Canadian Catholic Historical Association, 2002.
- “From College to University: The Basilian Fathers and Assumption College, 1950-1963” in Historical Studies, Volume 64, Canadian Catholic Historical Association, 1998.
Reviews/encyclopedia entries
Meehan, Peter M. Review of Rosa Bruno-Jofré and Jon Igelmo Zaldivar,
Catholic Education in the Wake of Vatican II (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017) in Historical Studies in Education / Revue d’histoire de l’éducation, Fall, 2018.
- Review of “Faith on the Prairies: Social Catholics and the CCF in the Generation Before Vatican II” in Historical Studies, The Canadian Catholic Historical Association, Volume 85, 2019.
- Review of The Canny Scot – Archbishop James Morrison of Antigonish (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015) in Historical Studies, The Canadian Catholic Historical Association, Volume 82, 2016.
- Encyclopaedia entry: “Pocock, Philip F.” in Michael Quisinsky and Peter Walter eds., Personenlexikon zum Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzil. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 2012.
- Review of Servants of All – A History of the Permanent Diaconate in the Archdiocese of Toronto, 1970-2007 (Toronto: Novalis Inc., 2010). Bulletin, The Canadian Catholic Historical Association, Volume XXII, No. 16, Fall 2010.
- Encyclopaedia entries and revisions: Benedictines; Ursulines; Sulpicians; Sisters of St. Joseph; Jesuits; Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary; The Brothers of the Christian Schools. The Canadian Encyclopaedia. Historica Foundation of Canada, 2009.
- Review of Mark McGowan, Michael Power - The Struggle to Build the Catholic Church on the Canadian Frontier (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2005). University of Toronto Quarterly, Volume 76:1, “Letters in Canada 2005,” Winter 2006-07.
Public lectures/keynotes/conference presentations
The content that follows may only represent a portion of my work.
Keynote: “The Moment of the Laity: Lay People and the Renewal of the Church, Legatus Vancouver, 3 January 2019.
Conference Paper: Meehan, Peter M. “Realizing Henry Carr’s Dream: Catholic Studies at St. Mark’s College at the University of British Columbia”, The Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, June 4-5, 2019.
Keynote: “Those who CAN and DO – Rethinking Liberal Education.” Seneca College Liberal Studies Symposium, Seneca College, 26 October 2018.
Keynote: “Truth, Reality and the Importance of Catholic Higher Education,” UBC Newman Association of UBC, Annual General Meeting, 5 May 2018.
Public Lecture: “Christianity: Engagement and Encounter During the Pontificate of Francis,” St. Mark’s College, University of British Columbia. 29 March 2017.
Public Lecture: “A Kairos Moment for Mercy.” RCAV Lenten Lectures. 19 February 2016.
Public Lecture: “Aggiornamento Now: Realizing the Gifts of the Second Vatican Council Through the Pontificate of Francis.” Archdiocese of Vancouver. 17 September 2016.
Keynote: “Building, Praying and Organizing: The Archdiocese of Winnipeg Prior to Vatican II.” Symposium - The Archdiocese of Winnipeg at 100: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. St. Paul’s College, University of Manitoba, 23 October 2015.
Keynote: “Why Catholic Higher Education Matters”. Vancouver College, Vancouver, BC, 18 October 2014.
Keynote: “Lost Leaders: Narratives of Service, Sacrifice and Faith in the History of Catholic Education in Ontario”. St. Augustine’s Seminary, Institute of Theology Colloquium. 6 May 2014.
Conference Paper: “‘All is not well here’: The Troubled Leadership of A.A. Sinnott in the Archdiocese of Winnipeg, 1916-1954”. The Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities, Victoria University, Victoria, BC. 2 June 2013.
Keynote: “Teaching a Personal Faith to a Public World – Reflections on Researching the History of the Catholic Church in Canada”. Catholic Archivists Group Conference, King’s University College, University of Western Ontario, London, ON. 18 May 2010.
Conference Paper: “’Purified Socialism and the Church in Saskatchewan: Philip Pocock, Tommy Douglas and ‘Hospitalization’, 1944-1948.” Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec. 31 May 2010.
Keynote: “Primus Inter Pares: Profiles in 20th Century Canadian Catholic Leadership.” Durham Catholic District School Board Supervisory Officers Conference, St. Augustine’s Seminary, Toronto, ON. 29 January 2010.
Professional, administrative and community service
The content that follows may only represent a portion of my work.
G.E. Clerk Award (2025)
Chair, Seminary Committee – Archdiocese of Vancouver (2020)
Chair, Clergy Education and Formation Committee – Archdiocese of Vancouver (2020)
Director, Centre for Christian Engagement – St. Mark’s College, UBC (2019-20)
Conference Delegate, Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities (2019)
Past Chair, Association of Catholic Universities and Colleges in Canada (2018 – )
Vice Chair, Association of Catholic Universities and Colleges in Canada (2018 – )
Director, Vancouver College Board (2015-20)
Director, Catholic Education Research Council (Can/US) (2016-19)
Senator, University of British Columbia (2014-20)
Member (ex officio), St. Mark’s College Board (2014-20)
Chair (ex officio), St. Mark’s College Senate (2014-20)
Chair, Corpus Christi College Educational Council (2014-19)
Chair, School of Liberal Arts, Seneca College (2009-14)
Chair, Degree Council, Seneca College (2013-14)
Chair, Academic Council, Seneca College (2013-14)
President, Canadian Catholic Historical Association (2008-10)
Editor, Historical Studies (2002-07)