Dr Rhonda McEwen named as first Black woman President of Victoria University

The announcement that Dr Rhonda McEwen will be the first Black woman president and vice-chancellor of Victoria University in the University of Toronto is so long overdue.

Dr Rhonda completed her undergraduate studies at the Saint Augustine Campus at the University of West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago. She has a MBA in Information Technology from City University in London, England, an MSc in Telecommunications from the University of Colorado and a Ph.D. in Information from University of Toronto.

Before entering the world of academics, she spent 15 years in the field of digital communication media for companies in management consulting capacities.

It was her time at Deloitte UK over 20 years ago that she was a member of the team that penned the first White Paper that examined the feasibility of mobile devices as a means to access emails and calendars. She states, “I was happy with the work I did there in terms of on the back and execution of the product side, but I wanted to understand more fully how people were affected and impacted by the technology.

These are not questions commercial businesses can provide immediate answers to as the cycle of business tends to be within a financial year where you want to see results based on your investment. In the academic world, there is more time and the ability to do longer studies and examine things more broadly to see what is the impact on the people using the technology. I was curious about that side of things,”

It was this motivation that led her to complete her doctoral work on, “A World Intimate: Exploring the Role of Mobile Phones in Maintaining and Extending Social Networks,” in 2009. Dr Rhonda served as Director of the Institute of Communication, Culture, and Information at Technology (ICCT) at the University of Toronto iSchool. She assumed a new position as Dean and Vice-President of the University of Toronto Mississauga campus on July 1^st, 2021, and she served as Special Advisor to the Vice-President and Principal on Anti-Racism & Equity prior to her appointment.

The appointment of Dr Rhonda as the New President and Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University was announced in a press release. It states, “The Board of Regents is thrilled to welcome an academic leader whose career exemplifies the ideals of intellectual curiosity and engaged conversation which are deeply embedded in the ethos of Victoria University.” It continues, “Dr McEwen has led transformative academic programs and initiatives at U of T that prepare students for a rapidly changing world. As a researcher, her focus on communications technology is rigorous and impactful and her leadership is supporting equity, diversity, inclusion, and access has gained support across the U of T community.”

In reply, Dr Rhonda stated, “I am honoured to be joining the Vic community of students, faculty, and alumni where teaching and learning are driven by curiosity and conscience through outstanding academic offerings and signature learning experiences, and those whose students and faculty embrace inclusive education.”