Latest / Kvetch & Release / University of Windsor’s first woman Chancellor Dr. Haddad stepping down Spring 2025
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: The University of Windsor's first woman chancellor is stepping down
- 0:04Speaker 1: in spring twenty twenty five after six years of service.
- 0:07Speaker 1: Doctor Mary Joe Hadad has announced she'll be stepping down
- 0:11Speaker 1: as chancellor from the University of Windsor on May thirty,
- 0:14Speaker 1: first of twenty twenty five. Doctor Hadad was installed as
- 0:18Speaker 1: the university's eighth chancellor in spring of twenty nineteen, becoming
- 0:22Speaker 1: the first woman to hold the prestigious position in the
- 0:25Speaker 1: University of Windsor's history. Joining me right now to discuss
- 0:29Speaker 1: is chancellor is Chancellor Hadad? How are you doing today?
- 0:33Speaker 2: I'm just fine. Thank you very much.
- 0:35Speaker 1: Thank you for joining me here. Can we just look
- 0:38Speaker 1: back at what your last six years have been like
- 0:41Speaker 1: at the University of Windsor serving as chancellor.
- 0:44Speaker 2: Well, certainly it has been an honor to both be
- 0:48Speaker 2: back in Windsor, be part of the university and to
- 0:52Speaker 2: serve as chancellor. It's been an incredible six years. It
- 0:56Speaker 2: certainly goes fast, and you know, right in the middle
- 1:01Speaker 2: of it was the challenge of COVID, So you know
- 1:04Speaker 2: I had to learn to be nimble and to do
- 1:06Speaker 2: things for the first time virtually and honestly. As I
- 1:14Speaker 2: reflect it really is bittersweet as I start thinking about
- 1:17Speaker 2: passing the baton.
- 1:19Speaker 1: So Chancellor is a it's a very very important sounding title.
- 1:24Speaker 1: I don't know if a lot of people know exactly
- 1:26Speaker 1: what the role of chancellor is. What is it?
- 1:30Speaker 2: So it's a position, a volunteer position, providing over convocation
- 1:39Speaker 2: and conferring degrees on all the students who successfully graduate
- 1:45Speaker 2: from university.
- 1:46Speaker 1: So an incredibly important role getting people their degrees, overseeing
- 1:49Speaker 1: the convocation itself. I know that you launched the Chancellor's
- 1:53Speaker 1: Leadership Series. Can you tell us about that?
- 1:55Speaker 2: Yes, I'm delighted to share My vision for the leadership
- 1:59Speaker 2: series is you know? And I was reflecting on the
- 2:02Speaker 2: role of Chancellor. I wanted to also think about my
- 2:06Speaker 2: own career and the leadership roles I had, and my
- 2:10Speaker 2: learnings along the way, and a real recognition that leadership
- 2:15Speaker 2: and our society is critical and in Canada importantly, what
- 2:19Speaker 2: could I be doing while I'm leading the role of
- 2:23Speaker 2: chance at the university? To launch this series with great
- 2:28Speaker 2: support from Tellus who underwrote and support the scholarship, as
- 2:33Speaker 2: well as hosting of a variety of leaders from across Canada,
- 2:39Speaker 2: and we you know, talk about all kinds of important
- 2:43Speaker 2: things like mental health, civic engagement, public policy, housing. So
- 2:51Speaker 2: we've taken on some pretty significant topics, but really hosted
- 2:57Speaker 2: leaders who have a broad background, who have stepped out
- 3:02Speaker 2: of their leadership jobs, their leadership roles to really have
- 3:06Speaker 2: a broader impact on our country and on our communities.
- 3:11Speaker 1: Well, it sounds incredibly important. The sharing of knowledge like that.
- 3:15Speaker 1: Of course, that back and forth is something that helps
- 3:18Speaker 1: everybody advance. I know that one thing that you did
- 3:20Speaker 1: help advance was some pretty important campus projects and capital
- 3:24Speaker 1: campaigns while you served in your role, and for things
- 3:27Speaker 1: that were happening on the campus, including transforming Windsor Law
- 3:30Speaker 1: and the Toldo Lancer Center. I wonder what your thoughts
- 3:32Speaker 1: are about having been involved with advancing those projects.
- 3:36Speaker 2: But you know, every university is challenged by having the
- 3:41Speaker 2: right space for the times, and called the Lancer Center
- 3:46Speaker 2: with a significant project that really started before me and
- 3:51Speaker 2: I had the privilege of both helping to do some
- 3:54Speaker 2: fund raising foreign helping to realize that vision. It's an
- 3:58Speaker 2: incredibly important building for students, for alumni, and for the community,
- 4:04Speaker 2: and so being a part of that was was clearly
- 4:07Speaker 2: a thrill. The Law school redevelopment was equally as exciting,
- 4:13Speaker 2: but on a little bit more personal level. My very
- 4:16Speaker 2: first stay into the University of Windsor as a high
- 4:19Speaker 2: school student, I went to do a project and I
- 4:22Speaker 2: wanted to go into the law Library and found myself
- 4:26Speaker 2: lost in a building that that seemed so huge at
- 4:33Speaker 2: the time and you know, became a really an iconic
- 4:37Speaker 2: building for that university, and so it's getting to be
- 4:41Speaker 2: part of its redevelopment, revisioning, growing from the path, building
- 4:49Speaker 2: on the path and really looking to the future. Was
- 4:52Speaker 2: really it was a thrill and excited about the building,
- 4:56Speaker 2: but more importantly about what happens within the building and
- 4:58Speaker 2: the collaboration that goes on between faculties and the leadership
- 5:04Speaker 2: our law school provides in our country. It's incredibly impressive.
- 5:08Speaker 1: Oh absolutely so. And I just I need to get
- 5:11Speaker 1: your perspective on what it's been like to be the
- 5:13Speaker 1: first woman to hold this role in the University of
- 5:16Speaker 1: Windsor's history.
- 5:18Speaker 2: Well, you know, I don't put a lot of attention
- 5:21Speaker 2: on being the first woman because I've been first and
- 5:24Speaker 2: many things. I'm hoping that our world has changed as
- 5:28Speaker 2: I go forward and recognize that, you know, we have
- 5:34Speaker 2: a role to play in paying it forward for others.
- 5:37Speaker 2: So I always take these roles on with great responsibility
- 5:41Speaker 2: and uh, you know, holds important. What will the future
- 5:46Speaker 2: look like? And so how do how do I make
- 5:48Speaker 2: my mark for women going forward? But also importantly for
- 5:52Speaker 2: the role itself.
- 5:53Speaker 1: So you've served before as president and CEO of the
- 5:57Speaker 1: Hospital for Sick Kids. You were founding share of Mars
- 6:00Speaker 1: Innovation and Children, First Canada member of the Order of Canada.
- 6:04Speaker 1: You've received the Queen Elizabeth the second Diamond Jubilee Medal
- 6:07Speaker 1: and the Premier's Award for Outstanding Achievement. What comes next
- 6:11Speaker 1: for you, doctor Hadad Well, I'm.
- 6:14Speaker 2: Currently involved in a number of things. I'm a board
- 6:18Speaker 2: member at on Tellus's board. I am a board member
- 6:22Speaker 2: at Capitalized for Kids. I do a lot of consulting, advising,
- 6:27Speaker 2: mentorship on leadership and I'm going to continue to do that.
- 6:31Speaker 2: And you know, I don't want to say I'm aging,
- 6:33Speaker 2: but I am aging, and I've got to slow a
- 6:35Speaker 2: little bit down. And so I'm not sure what's next,
- 6:38Speaker 2: but I'm sure you'll hear and see me somewhere in
- 6:41Speaker 2: the future.
- 6:42Speaker 1: Well, we look forward to that. I want to thank
- 6:44Speaker 1: you so much for your time. Congratulations on the time
- 6:47Speaker 1: that you served as chancellor and your just incredibly impressive career.
- 6:52Speaker 2: Thank you so very much.
- 6:53Speaker 1: You have yourself a you have a wonderful day.
- 6:56Speaker 2: Thank you, John.
- 6:57Speaker 1: That is Chancellor Doctor Mary Joe Haddad, who is stepping
- 7:02Speaker 1: down as Chancellor in spring of twenty twenty five from
- 7:05Speaker 1: the University of Windsor.