Published by Communications and Public Affairs (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338
News Release
December 02, 1998
VP Connie Rooke to be new president of University of Winnipeg
Constance Rooke, the University of Guelph's associate vice-president (academic), has been appointed the fifth president and vice-chancellor of the University of Winnipeg.
"Constance Rooke is a valued friend and colleague who has made many significant contributions to the advancement of this University," said University of Guelph president Mordechai Rozanski. "She has been a passionate advocate of liberal learning, has fostered innovation and has championed excellence and change. Her significant role at the University can be highlighted by her leading contributions to strategic planning, to human rights policy development and to the inventory process of our upcoming fund-raising campaign. While I am delighted for her, I must say that she will be greatly missed."
Provost Iain Campbell noted Rooke's impact around the VPAC (Vice-President's Academic Council) table. "As a member of VPAC and its vice-chair, she has been notable for her profound intellectual grasp of the academic issues the council addresses. Her deeply held commitment to teaching and learning excellence has been the foundation of the imaginative work she has done in VPAC and across the University. We will miss Connie."
Rooke was appointed professor and chair of U of G's Department of English in 1988. In February 1994, she was appointed associate vice-president (academic). In addition to her distinguished academic career, Rooke is a celebrated short-story writer and literary critic, and for 10 years served as editor of The Malahat Review. She is co-founder and co-director of the Eden Mills Writers' Festival.
"The University of Guelph has been exceptionally good to me, and it is going to be very hard indeed to leave it," she said. "I am so proud of the University of Guelph, of what the University has accomplished under considerable duress and is poised to achieve for the future. I know in my bones what a rare privilege it has been to belong to this remarkable community."
In a statement yesterday, Winnipeg Board of Regents chair Frank Hechter said: "The University of Winnipeg specifically, and post-secondary education in this province generally, will benefit greatly from Dr. Rooke's passion for excellence, energy, and commitment to students."
