Dr. Joanne MacLean
U SPORTS is pleased to welcome four new members to its Board of Directors and to announce the appointment of the 2020-21 officers to the corporation.
Joining the Board for two-year terms are Dr. Joanne MacLean, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Fraser Valley; Dr. Graham Carr, President and Vice-Chancellor of Concordia University; Curtis Atkinson, Director of Athletics and Recreation at Thompson Rivers University and John Richard, Director of Athletics at the University of New Brunswick.
“On behalf of the U SPORTS membership, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Joanne, Graham, Curtis and John to the Board of Directors,” said U SPORTS Interim CEO Dick White. “We are confident their leadership and guidance will allow us to safely and effectively navigate the challenges of this critical time for university sports across Canada.”
The officers of the Board for 2020-21 will be led by Carleton University President and Vice-Chancellor Benoit-Antoine Bacon, who joined the Board in 2019 and has now been appointed Chair. Richard and MacLean will serve as Vice Chair and Treasurer, respectively, while Manon Simard, Athletic Director at Université de Montréal, remains as the U SPORTS Secretary.
“I am honoured to serve as Chair of the U SPORTS Board and look forward to working with the leadership team and all member institutions as we continue to adapt to the ongoing public health crisis,” said Dr. Bacon. “University athletics have been deeply impacted by the pandemic, but we must remain hopeful that we can successfully navigate this crisis and come out stronger on the other side.”
U SPORTS sincerely thanks the four outgoing members who recently concluded their service: Dr. Annette Trimbee, President and Vice-Chancellor at MacEwan University (Chair); Pierre Arsenault, Director of Athletics and Recreation at Mount Allison University (Vice Chair), Daniel McMahon, President of Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (Treasurer) and Clint Hamilton, Senior Director of Athletics and Recreation at the University of Victoria.
The election of the Board of the Directors normally occurs during the U SPORTS Annual Meeting in June. However, the previous Board composition was extended until the present day, in order to preserve continuity while the organization finalized several key decisions and updated policies and regulations to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the full list and biographies of the 2020-21 U SPORTS Board of Directors, please click below.