Staff Announcement: Extension of President Naylor’s Appointment

Memorandum to: Governing Council
Members of the Academic Board
Members of the Business Board
Members of the University Affairs Board
Members of the College of Electors
Principals, Deans, Academic Directors, and Chairs
Professionals, Managers, and Confidential Staff
President, UTFA
Presidents of Employee Unions
Presidents of APUS, GSU, UTSU (SAC), UTMSU and SCSU
President, University of Toronto Alumni Association

From: Richard B. Nunn
Chair of the Governing Council

Date: March 30, 2012

Re: Extension of President Naylor’s Appointment


I am pleased to announce that, at its meeting last evening, the Executive Committee approved a six-month extension of President David Naylor’s appointment to December 31, 2013.

Two years ago, the Governing Council approved a three-year appointment, accepting the President's request for a shortened second term. Governing Council also delegated approval of a further extension of up to two years to the Executive Committee. As the term progressed, we were unanimous in our view that President Naylor be encouraged to accept an extension of his term to 2015. After much soul-searching, however, he has indicated his preference for a shorter period and, reluctantly, we have accepted his decision.

The University of Toronto continues to benefit from President Naylor’s outstanding leadership as he and his administrative team guide the institution through a consistently and increasingly challenging period. In spite of funding and other constraints, the University is making important advances in key areas articulated in Towards 2030 – and has just recently been and has just recently been ranked number three globally, after Cambridge and Oxford, in Newsweek magazine’s ranking of the top universities outside the United States. Within this context, the University has also launched an unprecedented $2-billion fundraising campaign in November and the achievement of this ambitious goal is critical to the University’s long-term success.

The proposed extension will also enable us to undertake a search for President Naylor’s successor and, in the next few days, pursuant to the Governing Council’s Policy Respecting the Appointment of a President, we will be issuing a call for nominations for membership of the Presidential Search Committee.