New Board chair for McGill
The next Chair of the Board of Governors of McGill University will be Robert Rabinovitch, whose name was recommended to the Board and unanimously approved last night. He succeeds Richard Pound, who in turn will inherit the mantle of Gretta Chambers as Chancellor of the University. The appointments take effect on July 1, 1999.
Currently the Executive Vice-President and COO of Claridge, a Montreal-based management and holding company, Robert Rabinovitch previously occupied the position of Deputy Minister of Communications and Under-Secretary of State, as well as a variety of other positions with the Government of Canada, including that of Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for Planning. His extensive experience in the broadcast sector includes membership on the boards of Netstar Communications Inc. and the Cineplex Odeon Corporation. As well, Dr Rabinovitch has participated on several cultural and public policy boards, including the KPMG Centre for Government Foundation, the Nunavut Trust financial advisory committee, and the Canadian Film Centre. In 1995 he served on the Government of Canada Policy Review Panel for Direct-to-Home Satellite Broadcasting. He also chairs the executive committee of the Canadian Jewish Congress (Quebec). A graduate of McGill University, Dr Rabinovitch holds postgraduate degrees in economics and finance from the University of Pennsylvania. He has been a member of McGills Board of Governors since January 1997.
Welcoming the appointment with enthusiasm, McGill Principal Bernard Shapiro says he expects Dr Rabinovitch to be "a forceful and articulate Chair of McGills Board." He goes on, "It is a position for which his wide experience as a deputy minister in the public sector and as a member of a variety of governing boards in the corporate sector should be of great value." Dr Rabinovitch himself says he is "very touched by the Boards confidence in me" and notes that McGill is at an important milestone in its development. "The University is facing very serious challenges at a time when higher education is becoming ever more important to our collective future. I hope I can be helpful to McGill at this critical point in its history."
