Dr. Mohamed Lachemi named Ryerson University’s new president
Dr. Mohamed Lachemi has been appointed as Ryerson University’s ninth president and vice-chancellor, effective April 4, 2016.
An award-winning teacher, mentor and professor of civil engineering, Dr. Lachemi is well known for his pioneering research in high-performance materials and advanced technologies.
“Ryerson is having an impact on the evolution of 21st-century education and has a special place in the Canadian university landscape as a destination of choice for exceptional talent and inventive thinkers,” said Dr. Mohamed Lachemi. “I am honoured to serve as president of Ryerson and to have the opportunity to continue working with outstanding students, faculty and staff as we move forward on such an important journey.”
Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario. Its urban campus surrounds the Yonge-Dundas Square, located at the busiest intersection in downtown Toronto.
“An internationally recognized researcher and accomplished academic administrator, Mohamed Lachemi has been a key contributor to the growth and development of Ryerson over a transformational time in the university’s history,” said Janice Fukakusa, chair of the Ryerson Board of Governors. “With the accelerated pace of change in today’s post-secondary education environment, he is ideally suited to continue Ryerson’s impressive momentum of innovation, growth, development, and support for entrepreneurship.”
Dr. Lachemi held a Canada Research Chair from 2002-10 and served in progressively senior roles at Ryerson including dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science, and provost and vice-president academic.
Most recently he served as the interim president and vice-chancellor.
“Ryerson is differentiated in everyone’s mind by academic excellence linked to entrepreneurial innovation, city-building and challenging the status quo,” said Ryerson Chancellor Lawrence Bloomberg. “This is a culture unique to Ryerson, and Mohamed Lachemi will lead its further growth and accomplishment.”
The search committee and the Board of Governors were both unanimous in endorsing the selection.
During his time at Ryerson, Dr. Lachemi has welcomed talented new scholars and students to the school, overseen the creation of a new Faculty of Science, fostered groundbreaking partnerships such as the Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Science Technology (iBest) with St. Michael’s Hospital, and been instrumental in the success of innovation clusters led by the Digital Media Zone (DMZ), ranked the top university business incubator in Canada and third in the world.