Dr. Charlotte Yates was installed as the University of Guelph’s ninth president and vicechancellor in March She becomes U of G’s first woman president. Her installation took place during a small, in-person ceremony on campus that was livestreamed to a global audience. Among attendees were dignitaries including numerous First Nations and Métis leaders and government officials, former U of G chancellors and presidents, prominent U of G supporters and current higher education leaders.
“It is about taking our ‘genius’ and using it to make the world a better place,” she said. Yates said U of G will pursue global excellence by recruiting top students, faculty and staff “with different experiences, different backgrounds and different perspectives. We must elevate and advance those voices that are under-represented today.”
She also promised to “reconnect the social fibres that have been frayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic” and build on U of G’s civic-minded values and sense of community.
She pledged to ensure fiscal stability, invest in research and scholarship, and engage with alumni, donors and other supporters.