MRU announces a new president, Tim Rahilly
By Nathan Woolridge, News Editor
MRU finally announced their new president to replace David Docherty, who will be leaving in May. Docherty joined MRU in 2011 as the university’s ninth president.
On Feb. 5, MRU announced Tim Rahilly as the university’s 10th president and first vice-chancellor. He will be serving a five-year term, which will begin on May 1, 2019.
Rahilly tweeted out “I am so thrilled to be joining the team at MRU.”
Rahilly is from Vancouver and has taught courses at Simon Fraser University, University of Manitoba, Royal Roads University, Technical University of British Columbia and McGill University.
Rahilly is the vice-provost and associate vice-president students and international at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. As well, he is the president of the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services.
According to MRU’s website, the main reason Rahilly wanted to come to MRU is that everything is centered around the students. He says, “There is a real match between MRU’s values and mine.”
The Calgary Sun reported that Rahilly has many areas of interest and experience, including “increasing domestic and international enrolment, developing policies and programs to improve health and well-being, prevent sexual violence, supporting Indigenous students and overseeing capital projects.”
What is his academic background? Well, as per MRU’s website, “Rahilly holds a PhD in Educational and Counselling Psychology from McGill University, a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology and Counselling from McGill University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a Minor in Education from Concordia University.”
MRU’s search for a new president began in July 2018. The search was conducted by a Presidential Selection Committee. The committee was made up of faculty, student and staff representatives along with representatives from Boyden Canada.
