About the President

Dr. Charlotte Yates

Charlotte Yates (she/her) is the President & Vice-Chancellor of University of Guelph and a faculty member in the Department of Political Science. Dr. Yates began at the University of Guelph in 2015 when she was recruited to serve as the University’s Provost and Vice President, Academic. Prior to this Dr. Yates served from 2008 to 2015 as Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at McMaster University where she was also a faculty member in Labour Studies and Political Science.

Throughout her academic career, Dr. Yates has championed the rights of women, Indigenous peoples and other equity seeking and marginalized groups. She is firm in her belief that academic and research excellence can only be achieved when all individuals and groups are treated equitably, respectfully and fairly. Dr. Yates has combined her commitment to equity with a passion for governance and policy, strategic budgeting and institutional innovation.

From her days as a young professor at McMaster, Dr. Yates has committed herself to student success, with a particular and decades long involvement in experiential and problem based learning, and active mentorship. Her successful research career as an interdisciplinary industry- and community-engaged scholar in the fields of the Canadian automotive industry, labour markets and employment and women, work and family was forged with more than $10 million support from SSHRC and other granting bodies. Yates has authored three books, written dozens of peer-reviewed articles and reports, and supervised more than 40 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

Born and raised in a large family in a small town on the Prairies, Dr. Yates received her undergraduate degree from the University of Winnipeg before moving to Ontario where she completed her MA at Queen’s University and her PhD from Carleton University.

Beyond her university leadership roles, Dr. Yates has always been actively involved in community. Currently, she is past President of the YWCA Hamilton, Director of the Automotive Policy Research Centre, a federal government appointment on the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council, and member of the partnership Board of the Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur la mondialisation et le travail in Montreal.