Marsden recognized again as one of Canada's most powerful women

November 21, 2006

Source: York University
http://www.yorku.ca/mediar/archive/Release.asp?Release=1175

Dr. Lorna R. Marsden, York University President and Vice-Chancellor, has once again been honoured as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100, and specially elected as the top public sector leader.

The award, presented in Toronto today by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN), recognizes the Top 100 female achievers in Canada, in a wide range of professional categories in the corporate world. Marsden was given special recognition from among the 10 women awarded in the public sector and broader public sector categories.

Dr. Marsden has been recognized with this award for four consecutive years -- since the awards' inception in 2003. Her award in the public service category is based on a prescribed set of criteria rather than on the suggestion of a third party nomination, which accounts for her continuing recognition.

"I am grateful to be recognized in this way and to be included in such a distinguished group of women who are doing such important work in both their professional and community endeavours," said Marsden. "I am very proud to represent the many hardworking women throughout the public sector, who are committed to ensuring that Canadians enjoy the highest standards of opportunity and potential."

"I wish to thank the Women’s Executive Network for its dedication to the advancement and professional development of Canadian women leaders," said Marsden.

The WXN is Canada's leading organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of executive-minded women in the workplace.

Marsden has been president and vice-chancellor of York University since 1997. She earned a PhD from Princeton University in 1972 and had a distinguished teaching career at the University of Toronto, where she later became vice-provost. In 1984, then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau appointed her to the Senate of Canada, and in 1992 she returned to academia as president and vice-chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont.

Along the way, she has been active in community issues: as president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women when she championed pay equity issues; as an active leader in the Liberal Party of Canada during the Trudeau years; and as a founder of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. At York University, her focus is on advancing university education and improving accessibility, making York one of the foremost centres of academic excellence that is open to all.

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York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 190,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 23 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

Contact:

Keith Marnoch

Media Relations

(416) 736-2100 ext. 22091
marnoch@yorku.ca