Appointment of Mr. Michael Porritt as Executive Director of Residences and Student Housing

Dear colleagues,

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Michael Porritt as Executive Director of Residences and Student Housing, effective November 3, 2008.

Reporting to the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning), the Executive Director of Residences and Student Housing is responsible for all aspects of housing services on the downtown campus at McGill University, from residence life programming to financial and human resources management, facilities management, accommodations, admissions, and summer business.  He will lead a dedicated team in McGill Residences, which serves approximately 2,600 students from across Quebec and Canada and from around the world.

Mr. Porritt holds a B.A. (Economics and Psychology) from University of Western Ontario, a M.Sc. (College Student Personnel) from Western Illinois University, and an Ed.S. (Higher Education Administration) from Appalachian State University.

Mr. Porritt comes to McGill from Trent University, where he has served as the Director of Housing Services since 2004.  He was responsible for all things related to on-campus housing, the residence life program, off-campus housing, and food services.

Before working at Trent, Mr. Porritt served as the Director of Housing and Residence Life at Winona State University, in Minnesota.  For four years, he was directly responsible for the leadership, management and administration of a housing program comprising 11 residence halls, with a total capacity of 2500 students.

At McGill, Mr. Porritt will join the Student Life and Learning Executive Team, which is led by the Deputy Provost, and will bring his professional experience in program development and residence life to support McGill students’ out-of-classroom learning.

It remains only to extend our heartfelt thanks to Ms. Flo Tracy, who first came to McGill in 1967, served as Warden of Royal Victoria College Residence from 1979 to 2004, and has been Director of Residences and Student Housing since 1980.  Few members of our community have contributed as much to the well-being of as many students as she has.  We all greatly admire her dedication to McGill students and the University.  I am sure that the entire McGill community joins me in wishing her the very best for a full and rewarding retirement.

Morton J. Mendelson, PhD
Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning)