The University of Guelph has appointed Kevin Golding as chair of the U of G Board of Governors, effective July 1.
Golding, the president of KPLG Advisory Services Inc. and formerly a senior executive with Maple Leaf Foods, will be chair for a two-year term. He will succeed Dick Freeborough, who completed his term as chair on June 30.
He was first appointed to the Board of Governors in 2008, and in 2014 became vice-chair of the board.
Golding has previously served as chair of the board’s Governance and Human Resources Committee and the Physical Resources and Property Committee. In 2012, he chaired the Campus Master Plan Steering Committee which led a major initiative to update and revise the University of Guelph’s Campus Master Plan. The updated plan has received a prestigious Ontario Professional Planners Institute award for excellence in planning achievement.
“I am deeply honoured to serve this great university and I look forward to working with the board and president Franco Vaccarino,” said Golding.
A longtime resident of Guelph, he is also the current chair of the board of BIOX Corporation (a bio-fuels company).
“We are extremely fortunate to have Kevin Golding as chair of the University of Guelph Board of Governors,” said Vaccarino.
“He is an experienced senior executive, and a dedicated governance volunteer who brings tremendous leadership skill to the role. On behalf of the entire University of Guelph community, we welcome him as our new chair.”
Mary Deacon, a mental health advocate and chair of the Bell Let’s Talk Mental Health Initiative was also appointed to the board, effective July 1. Her appointment is for a three-year term.
Deacon, a graduate of the University of Guelph, was formerly the president and CEO of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation in Toronto. She is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Mental Health Agenda Council, and a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. She was a recipient of an honorary degree from the University of Guelph at the June 2015 convocation.
Faculty, staff, and student representatives elected to the Board of Governors by their constituencies this past winter begin their appointments July 1.
Prof. Sally Hickson, director of the School of Fine Arts & Music, is one of three faculty representatives, and Irene Thompson, director of Student Housing Services, is one of two staff representatives. Adina Bujold, a PhD student in the Ontario Veterinary College, is the graduate student representative; James Rice, a Bachelor of Arts/ Criminal Justice and Public Policy student, and Jennah Carere, a Bachelor of Bio-resource Management/Environmental Management student, represent undergraduate students.
Other new appointments starting July 1 include Douglas Derry, former chair of the Board of Governors and chair of Poplar Lane Holdings Ltd, being appointed chair of the Investment Subcommittee of the board for a two-year term; and Gwen Harvey, president of BridgeWater Family Wealth Services, appointed to the Investment Subcommittee for a three-year term.
For more information on the University of Guelph’s Board of Governors, visit uoguelph.ca/secretariat/.