University News

Brian M. Levitt Named 19th Chancellor of Bishop’s University

March 14, 2013

Dr. Robert Gordon, ’60, D.C.L. 2004, Chair of the Board of Governors, is pleased to announce that the Board has approved the unanimous recommendation of the Bishop’s Council to appoint Me Brian M. Levitt Chancellor of Bishop’s University for a five-year term beginning on June 1, 2013. 

In accepting this appointment, Me Levitt commented: “I am a strong believer in the importance of the ‘Bishop’s model’, a liberal education delivered in a small, residential, primarily undergraduate university.  I am looking forward to this new challenge, and am pleased to be of service to Bishop’s University and the Bishop’s community.”

Expressing the appreciation of the Board of Governors, Dr. Gordon said: “We are honoured to have as our new Chancellor such a highly respected member of the Canadian legal and business communities, who has also served in a range of leadership roles in community and public sector organizations.”

Michael Goldbloom, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, congratulated the Board on its choice. “We are honoured to have Me Levitt join the Bishop’s community and are looking forward to working with him over the coming years.”

Brian M. Levitt is Co-Chair of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, working out of its Montreal office, and, since 2011, he has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Toronto-Dominion Bank. 

He earned a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering and an LL.B. from the University of Toronto.  In 1976, after two years working as a lawyer for the federal government’s Anti-Inflation Board, he joined Osler’s Toronto office.  He was named partner there in 1979.  From 1991 to 2000, he served as President and then CEO of Canadian consumer products and services company Imasco Limited. 

An active participant in community organizations and public life, Me Levitt currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and as Chair of the Canadian Judicial Compensation and Benefits Council. 

Dr. Gordon expressed his profound thanks to Chancellor Scott Griffin, O.C., ’60, D.C.L. 2002, who has served in the role since 2005.  “Scott, whom I have now known for 50 years, since we were undergraduates at Bishop’s, has provided inspirational service to the Bishops’ community over the last eight years.  We are very grateful to him for his outstanding contributions to our University.”

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