Dominic Giroux

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Dominic Giroux
Vice Chancellor of Laurentian University
In office
April 1, 2009 – June 2017
Preceded byJudith Woodsworth
Succeeded byPierre Zundel (Interim)
10th President of Laurentian University
In office
April 1, 2009 – June 2017
Preceded byRobert Bourgeois
Succeeded byPierre Zundel (Interim)
Personal details
Alma materUniversity of Ottawa
Université de Montréal

Dominic Giroux was Laurentian University's tenth President and Vice-Chancellor from April 1, 2009 to June 2017. In 2011, he received one of Canada's "Top 40 Under 40" Awards[1] and was named the 2010 Education Personality of the Year by Radio-Canada/Le Droit.[2] Afterwards, he worked at Health Sciences North (2017-2023) and Montfort Hospital.

Career[edit]

Laurentian Presidency[edit]

Under his leadership, Laurentian secured funding for the construction of the Vale Living With Lakes Centre, approval and funding for the launch of the Northern Ontario School of Architecture, the first school of architecture in Canada in over 40 years, a $10 million naming gift from Stan Bharti for the school of engineering, as well as a $14 million matching pledge from the City of Barrie for Laurentian's proposed downtown Barrie campus. The campus never materialized - the provincial government declined to fund it.[3][4] The university appointed in 2010 its first-ever Chancellor, Aline Chrétien, established in 2011 a new School of Mines, opened in 2012 a new 236-bed student residence[5] on its Sudbury campus, and launched a new 2012-2017 Strategic Plan. During his tenure as President, Giroux was criticized for his role in the defection of NDP MP Glenn Thibeault to the provincial Liberal party, encouraging him to hold out for a cabinet position.[6][7] After his departure, it was revealed that Giroux had negotiated a deal granting him permanent unpaid leave from Laurentian and a full-time job as a Full Professor if he were to return to the school.[8]

Involvement in Laurentian Insolvency[edit]

After a number of high profile expenditures under his watch [9][10][11][12] and immediately following President Giroux’s departure to Health Sciences North as CEO,[13] the university fell into serious financial difficulties,[14][15] including the accumulation of deficits and massive cuts,[16] as well as enduring a 2 week faculty strike,[17][18] the first since 1989.[19] The fiscal problems culminated in the declaration of insolvency by Laurentian University,[20] leading to the unprecedented termination of >100 tenured and tenure track faculty and > 40 staff, along with the closure of 69 programs[21] The insolvency of Laurentian University in Feb 2021 [22][23] was followed by questions regarding the role of Giroux, the Board of Governors, and other administrative leaders in the crisis.[24] Of particular note were the declarations of annual balanced budgets by Giroux [25][26] despite the provincial advisor Alan Harrison concluding that Laurentian University had been running longstanding deficits.[27] Giroux cosigned a letter with three previous Chairs of the Board of Governors blaming unforeseen factors such as the Ontario government's refusal to fund Laurentian's Barrie campus, the mandated 10% tuition cut and freeze, and the COVID pandemic for the fiscal crisis.[28] Nonetheless, Robert Haché, the President of Laurentian University since 2019, pointed to decisions made during the Giroux presidency as the root cause of the insolvency.[29]

Further career[edit]

Giroux started in education as a school board trustee at 19 and board chair at 21 in Ottawa. Prior to his appointment at Laurentian in 2009, Mr. Giroux was assistant deputy minister with the Ontario Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, after having served as CFO of two French language school boards in southern and eastern Ontario. After his tenure at Laurentian University, he become CEO of Health Sciences North in 2017 where he stayed until 2023, when it was announced that he would become CEO of Montfort Hospital.[30]

Giroux was appointed in June 2011 as one of four members of the Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services, chaired by Don Drummond, which was tasked to recommend to the government how to deliver the most efficient public services possible (Drummond Report).[31] He also served as co-special advisor on the implementation of a Northern Policy Institute[32] and was appointed to the Northern Ontario Ring of Fire Advisory Council.[33]

Giroux serves as chair of the board of directors of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, national co-chair of the Consortium national de formation en santé (CNFS), co-chair of the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT), and board member of the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI), the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation (GSDC) and the Banque d'aliments Sudbury Food Bank. He is a former vice chair of the Association des universités de la francophonie canadienne (AUFC) and the Ottawa chapter of the Francophone Assembly of Ontario, and former board member of the Canadian Education Association (CEA), the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), and Montfort Hospital in Ottawa.[citation needed]

A member of the Ontario College of Teachers, Giroux holds bachelor's degrees in social sciences and education from the University of Ottawa, as well as an MBA from HEC Montréal. The University of Ottawa gave him the "Leadership in Education Award" in 2007, while HEC gave him a "Talented Young Manager" Award in the large business category in 2008.[citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Michael Ryval (2011-04-28). "Dominic Giroux, 35: helped university expand - The Globe and Mail". M.theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
  2. ^ Orfali, Philippe (2010-02-17). "Andrée Lortie couronnée". Le Droit. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  3. ^ "Laurentian University's dream of Barrie campus not in cards, minister says". CBC News. 2015-05-22.
  4. ^ "Laurentian University blames province for Barrie campus exit". CBC News. 2016-02-16.
  5. ^ "$20M LU residence addresses high demand for space - Sudbury Local News". Northernlife.ca. 2012-05-14. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
  6. ^ White, Erik (2017-09-12). "Sudbury byelection scandal trial: Day 4". CBC News.
  7. ^ MacDonald, Darren (2019-10-08). "Interview: Wynne's election architect spills secrets about the byelection scandal". Sudbury.com.
  8. ^ MacDonald, Darren (2019-01-16). "Giroux's sweetheart deal from Laurentian revealed in court documents". Sudbury.com.
  9. ^ "Laurentian Faculty Association alleges special deals made for university administrators". CBC News. 2019-02-15.
  10. ^ Migneault, Jonathan (15 January 2015). "Laurentian aims to complete campus modernization in 2016". Northern Ontario Business.
  11. ^ Nowicki, Julia (2 November 2015). "Cardiovascular lab will boost research excellence at LU: Wang". The Lambda.
  12. ^ MacGregor, Roy (7 February 2017). "How a 'fart pill' could potentially do wonders for human health". The Globe and Mail.
  13. ^ "'I'm not sure how we could've done anything different': Sudbury hospital defends new CEO salary". CBC. 2017-10-05.
  14. ^ "Laurentian to run deficit in 2018-19, balance by 2019-20". The Sudbury Star. 2018-06-23.
  15. ^ Ulrichsen, Heidi (11 October 2020). "Laurentian University's financial crunch stems from building spree, faculty rep argues". Northern Ontario Business.
  16. ^ "Laurentian University to eliminate $10M in spending to balance budget". CBC News. 2019-03-26.
  17. ^ Ulrichsen, Heidi (2017-09-28). "It's Day 1 of the LU strike and both sides say they want to get back to bargaining ASAP". Sudbury.com.
  18. ^ "Laurentian's professors walk off the job". The Sudbury Star. 2017-09-28.
  19. ^ "LUFA's history". Laurentian University Faculty Association.
  20. ^ "Laurentian University files for creditor protection". Northern Ontario Business. February 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  21. ^ "Laurentian University cuts 100 professors, dozens of programs". CBC. 2021-04-09. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12.
  22. ^ "Laurentian ran deficits dating back to 2014, government adviser says in report". CBC News. 2021-04-09.
  23. ^ Dunne, Nick. "Laurentian U, creditor protection, and what comes next". TVO.org.
  24. ^ Buse, Dieter (2021-03-09). "Opinion: The Laurentian mess stems from a major failure in leadership". Sudbury News.
  25. ^ "Laurentian balances budget for seventh straight year". Sudbury.com. 2017-06-26. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  26. ^ "Laurentian University balances budget for seventh consecutive year". Laurentian University.
  27. ^ "Laurentian University ran deficits dating back to 2014, government adviser says in report - The Globe and Mail". The Globe and Mail. 14 February 2021.
  28. ^ Ulrichsen, Heidi (2021-05-11). "Leaked: Former Laurentian leaders break their silence on insolvency roots in letter to the province". Sudbury News.
  29. ^ White, Erik (2021-05-27). "Root of Laurentian's money problems still foggy, but university leaders past and present playing 'blame game'". CBC News.
  30. ^ "Dominic Giroux appointed as new president and CEO of Montfort Hospital". Ottawa Citizen. 2023-02-23.
  31. ^ Drummond, Don (2011-06-17). "Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services: Members". Fin.gov.on.ca. Archived from the original on 2011-11-24. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
  32. ^ "Growth Plan for Northern Ontario". Government of Ontario. March 2011. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  33. ^ "Ring Of Fire Advisory Council". News.ontario.ca. 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
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