Hugh Segal elected 5TH Master of Massey College

Change of office to take effect on July 1, 2014

TORONTO, Dec. 12, 2013 /CNW/ - Hugh Segal, a member of the Senate of Canada and a distinguished author, policy advisor and academic is to become the next Master of Massey College, succeeding John Fraser who retires on June 30, 2014 from the position he has held for nearly two decades.

The Governing Council of the University of Toronto today gave assent to the election on Tuesday December 10, 2013 of Mr. Segal by Massey College's governing Corporation. This followed an extensive process begun last May by a search committee representing all aspects of the life of the college.

There will be a six-month transition period during which time Mr. Segal will continue to serve in the Senate until he takes on his new position.  In accepting the position of the fifth Master in the college's history, Mr. Segal said: "Massey College is an independent, interdisciplinary college within the University of Toronto. It opened in 1963 and for 50 years has been the leading intellectual home in Canada for outstanding graduate students, distinguished senior academics, scholars-at-risk (caught out in intolerant conditions around the world), as well as non-academic leaders from  journalism, politics and the public service. It is host to the annual Walter Gordon Symposium on Public Policy and co-host (with CBC and the House of Anansi Press) of the annual Massey Lectures. My term as Master will be a rewarding opportunity and challenge to work with this remarkable community, especially with those exceptional young Canadian and international scholars who constitute our future."

For his part, in a letter to all members of the Massey Community, John Fraser wrote: "This is a wonderful choice the Selection Committee has made and it is a help to me to know that such a warm, engaging and energetic figure as Hugh Segal is to take on the leadership of this amazing college. It is going to be an important, challenging and ultimately triumphant change for the college: all good transitions are. It is a time to evaluate what works, what doesn't work so well anymore, what can be improved, what needs to be cherished. That's how successful institutions survive and thrive."

The first Master was the celebrated Canadian novelist and journalist, Robertson Davies. He was succeeded by the pioneer computer researcher, J.N.Patterson Hume, the Irish studies scholar Ann Saddlemyer, and Mr. Fraser, an author and journalist.

Mr. Segal's biography can be found at:  http://www.hughsegal.ca/
Massey College's web site is:  http://www.masseycollege.ca/

SOURCE: Massey College

please contact:
Hugh Segal: [email protected] or 613-995-4059
John Fraser: [email protected]