UVic’s Board of Governors 2012/13
The University of Victoria Board of Governors is one of two primary governing bodies of the university (the other being the UVic Senate). Under the University Act of British Columbia, it is responsible for the management, administration and control of the property, revenue and business affairs of the university.
The board consists of the chancellor, the president, two elected faculty members, one elected staff member, two students elected from the university's undergraduate and graduate students and eight members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, two of whom are appointed from among persons nominated by the Alumni Association.
SUSAN MEHINAGIC, Chair
Order-in-council appointee
Mehinagic holds a BCom (Honours) from Queen’s University and an LLB from the University of Victoria. A fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a member of the Bar Association of British Columbia, she was previously the managing partner of the Victoria office of Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants, where she practiced in the field of personal and corporate taxation. Mehinagic was a director of the Queen Alexandra Foundation and the Greater Victoria Hospitals Foundation. She served previously as chair of the University of Victoria Foundation and the Foundation for the University of Victoria. She has completed the Directors Education Program of the Institute of Corporate Directors.
ERICH MOHR, Vice-Chair
Order-in-council appointee
Mohr is chairman, CEO and founder of MedGenesis Therapeutix Inc., a privately held global biopharmaceutical company based in Victoria developing treatments for disorders of the central nervous system. Mohr is an internationally recognized expert in experimental therapeutics for central nervous system disorders and has served as an advisor to several of the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. He has extensive experience as a board member both in the private and not-for-profit sectors. Mohr graduated from UVic with a PhD in neuropsychology. He has founded or co-founded several successful Life Science companies.
DAVID TURPIN
President
Turpin is the University of Victoria’s sixth president and vice-chancellor. Under his leadership, UVic has grown in size and in stature; student financial assistance has more than doubled; sponsored research funding has increased nearly four-fold reaching more than $100M annually; and the university leads the Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) Observatory and the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions. Turpin is a well-recognized scholar in plant biochemistry and physiology, one of Canada’s most highly cited researchers, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a member of the Order of Canada.
MURRAY FARMER
Chancellor
Farmer holds a BA in economics from the University of Victoria, completed the Harvard Business School’s owner/president executive education program, and is a registered quantity surveyor. He is the president of Farmer Industries Group Inc. and vice-president of Farmer Management Inc., Accent Inns, and Beckton Estates Inc. Farmer has chaired the Canadian Construction Association, and provided volunteer leadership for many local organizations, including the Victoria Foundation, the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre Campaign and the Royal Jubilee Hospital Foundation. He received the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2007.
NAV BASSI
Elected staff member
Bassi is the director of Academic & Administrative Services for University Systems at the University of Victoria, as well as the chief technology officer for the Gustavson School of Business. Previously, he was responsible for building a Project Management Office for University Systems. Bassi holds a BSc in computer science and an MBA (Service Management) from UVic, as well as a Master’s Certificate in project management and the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential. He has taught management information systems for the Gustavson MBA Program and economics for the Division of Continuing Studies at UVic. Bassi is also member of the University of Victoria Senate elected by the Convocation.
JANE BUTLER McGREGOR
Order-in-council appointee
Butler McGregor serves currently as CEO of the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Prior to this she served on the board of directors of Pacific Opera Victoria before stepping in as interim executive director during a transitional period. Previously she lived in the United States for 13 years where she helped found two new non-profit organizations and served on the board of several others. Before moving to the US she served as the corporate director of human resources for the Jim Pattison Group in Vancouver after managing guest relations and VIP services for Expo 86. She has a BA in psychology from the University of British Columbia.
PETER DRIESSEN
Elected faculty member
Driessen was appointed at UVic in 1985 and is currently professor in engineering with cross-appointments in music and computer science. His teaching and research interests include music technology, sound recording, audio signal processing and multimedia. He has over 100 publications and 14 patents and holds research funding from NSERC, SSHRC and the Canada Council for the Arts. Driessen served previously on the Board of Governors during 2005-2008. He served as vice-president of the Faculty Association for two years ending in April 2012 and served on the University Senate for five years.
TONY GAGE
Order-in-council appointee
Gage holds a BA in economics from the University of Victoria and an MBA (finance) from the University of British Columbia. A chartered financial analyst (CFA), Gage is a director of PSP Investments, chair of Sky Investment Counsel and head of the management committee of JEA Pension System Solutions. He is a past chair of the board of Phillips, Hager and North Investment Management. His career at Phillips, Hager and North spanned more than 20 years including five years as president and chief executive officer. He is a member of the Association of Investment Management and Research (AIMR) and an accredited chartered director (McMaster University).
LUCIA HEFFELFINGER ORSER
Elected student member
Orser is in her second term on the board of directors of the University of Victoria Students’ Society and is currently the executive director of External Relations. She is pursuing a degree in women’s studies and a minor in public administration at the University of Victoria. Orser has experience in community organizing, government relations and student advocacy initiatives. Orser will be serving a one-year term as one of the two student representatives on the Board of Governors for the upcoming year.
MICHAEL KENNEDY
Order-in-council appointee
Kennedy is vice-president and regional leader of Stantec Consulting Limited in British Columbia. Over the course of his 20-year career, he has worked on a variety of major infrastructure projects in Canada, the US and Europe. Kennedy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in construction management from the University of Manchester, is a member of the UK-based Chartered Institute of Building and is a project management professional. He is a founding executive committee member of the BC District Council of the Urban Land Institute and in 2007 he was the recipient of the Business in Vancouver “Forty under 40” award. Kennedy is a member of the Board of Governors of the Business Council of British Columbia and the Board of Directors of the BC Cancer Foundation.
LINDSAY LEBLANC
Order-in-council appointee
LeBlanc holds a BCom (Honours) from the University of Northern British Columbia and an LLB from the University of Victoria. She was admitted to the British Columbia bar in 2006. A partner with the law firm of Cox, Taylor, her practice focuses on property land development, corporate and commercial law, estate planning, foreclosure, and administrative and municipal matters. LeBlanc has served as director at large on the Aboriginal Law Student Scholarship Trust Committee of the Canadian Bar Association and as legal director of the Vancouver Island Sexual Health Society and was treasurer and director of the Victoria section of the Canadian Bar Association, Young Lawyers.
TRIBESTY NGUYEN
Elected student member
Nguyen holds a BSc in microbiology from the University of Victoria and is currently completing a concurrent biology degree. He is heavily involved in non-profit work, currently sitting on the Board of Directors for both the University of Victoria Students Society and Global Brigades Canada, for which he has organized three annual medical trips to Honduras with Canadian doctors and nurses—treating over 3,000 people who would otherwise have no access to medical care. Nguyen is seeking to pursue a career in medicine and enjoys being involved with grassroots organizing and community work.
RAY PROTTI
Order-in-council appointee
A University of Alberta graduate with a BA and MA in economics, Protti was previously president and CEO of the Canadian Bankers Association. Before that, his positions in the federal public service included director of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, deputy minister of Agriculture and Agri-food and of Labour Canada. Protti chaired the board of the Institute of Corporate Directors’ Corporate Governance College and co-founded the International Banking Federation. He has served on the boards of many not-for-profit and arts organizations in Ontario and British Columbia and is a member of the board of Canadian Western Bank.
BEVERLY VAN RUYVEN
Order-in-council appointee
Van Ruyven holds a BA from the University of Victoria and completed the Executive Management Program at the Richard Ivey School of Business of the University of Western Ontario. She was previously deputy chief executive officer and executive vice-president of BC Hydro, having joined the company in 1997 as manager of Key Accounts and been promoted to progressively more senior management positions including that of acting president and chief executive officer from January to May 2010. Van Ruyven chaired the board of the Western Energy Institute and served on the boards of Accenture Business Services for Utilities, Fraser Basin Council and Vancouver Board of Trade Women’s Leadership Circle. Currently she is on the board of the Inner Change Foundation. She was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2009 and 2010.
BARBARA WHITTINGTON
Elected faculty member
Whittington is an associate professor who has served as director of the School of Social Work, faculty coordinator of the UVic Family Centre and university orator, and was the university’s first human rights (harassment) director. She helped found the Canadian Association for the Prevention of Discrimination and Harassment in Higher Education, the UVic Employee and Family Assistance Program and was appointed to the Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee for the selection of Supreme Court Justices in BC. Whittington’s research, professional practice and community interests centre on issues of grandparents raising grandchildren, social justice, trauma, emergency response and restorative justice practices. She received the Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence and most recently the UVic Women’s Recognition Award.
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