Catherine Salole joined York last Tuesday as the new director of Student Community & Leadership Development.
Salole has 10 years experience working in student affairs, mostly at the University of Guelph-Humber. At York, she will be doing everything she loved doing at Guelph-Humber, “just more and in 
more depth.”
One of four founding managers of Guelph-Humber in 2002, she started as manager of recruitment & student life. She built the student recruitment program, laid the foundation for student groups and student government, and fostered student leaders and first-year student success.
Left: Catherine Salole
For the past four years, as manager of student life, career & alumni services, she founded alumni services and programming, established career services, encouraged corporate employers to recruit on campus, and planned the first convocation ceremonies. She has won three student appreciation awards in the past three years at Guelph-Humber.
“I am confident that Catherine’s 10 years of experience in student affairs and her passion for student development will be an asset to enhancing the student experience here at York and our team,” says Rob Tiffin, York vice-president students.
Salole has two degrees and is working on a third. After earning a bachelor of science in biology from the University of Guelph in 1996, she worked as an assistant coordinator and fitness instructor in the athletics department for two years. She liked the training component and decided to try teaching. She enrolled in the bachelor of education at the University of Toronto and taught high-school science, environmental science and math.
In 2000, she returned to the University of Guelph as liaison coordinator and program counsellor at the Ontario Agricultural College, gaining experience in student recruitment, career planning and student life programming. In 2002, she joined Guelph-Humber.
“I consider myself an educator,” says Salole. “I’m motivated by students and the role that the co-curricular environment has on the student experience."
“A lot of my job will be building relationships and collaborating with other divisions to enrich student life," says Salole. “I’m excited at the prospect of working with students, staff and faculty and of being involved in so many initiatives. I think York is progressive and there’s a real sense of community here.”
Salole is also working on completing a master of education program at Memorial University this year.
She takes over from Ross McMillan, who has served as interim director for seven months since the departure of Frank Cappadocia.