York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton, issues the following announcement to the York University community:
I am extremely pleased to announce that the search for York University’s next Provost and Vice-President Academic has reached a successful conclusion.
Lisa Philipps
Last fall, I established a search committee charged with advising me in regard to the appointment of our Provost and Vice-President Academic. This is a vitally important academic leadership position in the University, and the Provost is a key member of our senior administrative team, contributing to strategic planning around our academic priorities, complement and enrolment planning, and community engagement.
Following an extensive national and international search, which attracted a number of outstanding candidates, the committee recommended Professor Lisa Philipps for approval by the Board as our new Provost and Vice-President Academic. On Tuesday, the Board of Governors Executive Committee, on behalf of the Board of Governors, concurred with the recommendation for the appointment. I am delighted that Professor Philipps has accepted the invitation to take up a five-year term, commencing July 1, 2018, and ending on June 30, 2022.
As members of the community will be aware, Professor Philipps has been serving as Interim Vice-President Academic and Provost since May of 2017, providing outstanding leadership in relation to academic planning, program development, enrolment management, and the renewal of the full-time complement, as well as championing York’s equity and inclusivity commitments. She joined York in 1996 and is a Professor of Law in Osgoode Hall Law School. She holds an LLB from the University of Toronto and an LLM from York and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1988. Her research encompasses taxation law and policy, fiscal policy, higher education policy, and feminist legal theory.
Prior to her appointment as Interim Provost, Professor Philipps held a number of key positions here at York, including Assistant Dean (First Year) and Associate Dean (Research, Graduate Studies & Institutional Relations) in Osgoode. At the institutional level, in 2014, as part of the Academic and Administrative Program Review process, she chaired the Academic Task Force, which offered important recommendations on the quality and sustainability of academic and research programs, thereby providing guidance to academic planners across the University. She has also served as Chair of the (then) Senate Academic Policy and Planning Committee (2005-06) and from 2011 to 2014 was Associate Vice-President Research, with responsibility for supporting research intensification across the University and for liaison with SSHRC and community research partners.
Beyond the University, Professor Philipps has provided expert legal advice to a range of bodies, including the Ontario Ministry of Finance as Special Counsel in 2015. In 2015-16, she served as Interim Dean of the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law at Lakehead University, a new law school with a mandate to strengthen the Indigenous bar and prepare lawyers to practice in northern and rural communities.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Search Committee for Provost and Vice-President Academic for their contributions to this important process. I know that Professor Philipps will provide strong leadership and continuity for the University, and I very much look forward to working with her in her capacity as our next Provost and Vice-President Academic. I hope that all members of the University community will join me in congratulating her.