2004-2005

News Release

REF NO.: 105

SUBJECT: President of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada to speak at Waterford Valley Rotary Club

DATE: November 16, 2004

Note to editors:

The president of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, Claire Morris, will speak at the Waterford Valley Rotary Club, the Chateau Park in Mount Pearl, at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Ms. Morris was named president and CEO of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada for a five-year term, which began on April 5, 2004. She is the first woman appointed to serve as president of AUCC. She will be in St. John’s for only two days to meet with various university and government officials.

Media agencies are invited to send representatives.

Claire Morris - Biography

Claire Morris was deputy minister of intergovernmental affairs in the Privy Council Office of Canada since May 2002. She joined the Government of Canada in December 1998, serving first as associate deputy minister and then as deputy minister of Human Resources Development Canada, deputy minister of Labour and concurrently chair of the Employment Insurance Commission. Among major policy initiatives launched during her term were the skills and learning agenda, the early childhood development agreement, parental leave, and the homelessness initiative.

Ms. Morris brings to her new position at AUCC a deep and comprehensive understanding of federal-provincial relations and regional sensibilities. Prior to joining the federal government, Ms. Morris was New Brunswick's top-ranked civil servant, serving as secretary to the provincial cabinet and Clerk of the Executive Council. She had previously served in a number of increasingly senior positions, including deputy minister of health and community services. Throughout her various roles in New Brunswick, she contributed to policy development that led to changes in New Brunswick's decision-making process and established stronger links between social and economic policy.

Ms. Morris has a longstanding interest in Canada's universities, and has served as a member of the board of governors of St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, as a sessional lecturer at that university as well as at the Université de Moncton, and as guest lecturer at Queen's University's program for public service executives. Ms. Morris served as vice-chair of the advisory board to the faculty of administration at the University of New Brunswick, as well as chair of the Maritime Rhodes Scholarship selection committee.

A native of Ottawa, the fluently bilingual Ms. Morris holds a bachelor of arts and master's of social work from the Universityof Toronto. In 1995, she received the Public Policy Forum Award, and in 2000 was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Universityof New Brunswick.

About AUCC

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada is the voice of Canada's universities representing 92 Canadian public and private not-for-profit universities and university-degree level colleges. Since 1911, the AUCC has provided strong and effective representation for members, in Canadaand abroad. The association’s mandate is to facilitate the development of public policy on higher education and to encourage co-operation among universities and governments, industry, communities, and institutions in other countries.

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