Principal Emeritus Dr. Mark McGowan will continue to serve as Interim Principal and Vice-President of the University of St. Michael’s College for the 2021-2022 academic year, President David Sylvester has announced.
“St. Michael’s is fortunate that Dr. McGowan has agreed to remain in Odette Hall through the next academic year,” says Dr. Sylvester. “His experience, his insights, and his dedication have lent a reassuring stability to the university in this challenging time and I am delighted that we will continue to be able to call on his talents and support.”
St. Michael’s Principal from 2002-2011, Dr. McGowan is a historian renowned for his work on the Catholic Church in Canada, and the Great Irish Famine, as well as the lasting impact the Famine’s mass migration had on Canada.
He has won multiple awards for both his teaching and writing and is well known for his work in Catholic education, including studying the history of Catholic education in Ontario. He has served as a consultant to the Institute for Catholic Education. His latest book, It’s Our Turn: Carrying on the Work of the Pioneers of Catholic Education in Ontario was published by Novalis in 2019.
He is cross-appointed to U of T, where he served as Deputy Chair of the history department (2017-19), as Senior Advisor to the Dean of Arts & Science, International (2014-17) and as Acting Vice-Provost, Students, for the University of Toronto for part of 2013. From 2002 to 2011, he served as Principal and Vice-President (Academic) at the University of St. Michael’s College.