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OTTAWA, June 16, 2010  —  The University of Ottawa has appointed Mr. Robert Giroux as chair of its Board of Governors.

Robert Giroux holds both a Bachelor’s in Commerce (specialization economics) and a Master’s in Science (economics) from the University of Ottawa where he has also taught statistics and public administration. He led the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) from 1995 to 2004 and was deputy minister of both Customs and Excise with Revenue Canada, and the Ministry of Public Works. He was president of the Public Service Commission from 1990 to 1994 and was then appointed Secretary of the Treasury Board of Canada and Comptroller General of Canada in 1994 and 1995.

Intensely involved in the university environment, Robert Giroux contributes his expertise as a member of the advisory board to the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management, the board of directors of the Université du Québec en Outaouais and the Board of Governors of the University of Victoria. He is a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Trudeau Medal awarded by the Telfer School of Management and a recipient of honorary doctorates from the Royal Military College of Canada, McMaster University, Université de Montréal, McGill University, Brock University, the University of Victoria and the University of Ottawa.

Mr. Giroux is also a member of several organizations including the Australian Education Office, the Canadian Labour and Business Centre, the Education Marketing Advisory Board, the Canadian Centre for Management Development, the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation and the Commission on International Education of the American Council on Education. He is currently on the board of directors of the Canada Foundation for Innovation and chair of the board of the Canada Council on Learning.

The board of governors directs the overall governance and management of the University of Ottawa. It is responsible for making financial decisions and implementing the policies and procedures that the University needs to operate efficiently. The board appoints and replaces the president, vice-presidents, deans, directors and senior managers of the University, and it sets the duties, salaries and benefits of principal officers and of both academic and administrative staffs. The chair of the board of governors presides over all board meetings and is an ex officio member of all its committees.