Jamaican named as new chancellor of Toronto Metropolitan University
TORONTO, Canada — Jamaican Donette Chin-Loy Chang has been recommended to the Board of Governors as the next chancellor of Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU).
Chin-Loy Chang’s appointment as TMU’s sixth chancellor will begin on October 10 and will last for three years. She succeeds Janice Fukakusa.
According to a TorontoMet Today report, speaking on her appointment, President and Vice-Chancellor Mohamed Lachemi shared that “Donette has been a valued member of the TMU community for decades. Through her work and support for equity-focused organisations and her commitment to education, she continues to make her mark in improving the lives of those around her.”
“We are so pleased that she will continue to strengthen her relationship with TMU in her newest role as our chancellor.
“TMU always challenges the status quo with bold and innovative action, responding to the needs of learners in an ever-changing world. I accept this role with great humility and am proud to be part of an extraordinary community that truly values excellence, equity and reconciliation,” Lachemi continued.
Chin-Loy Chang successful career and philanthropy work makes her fitting for the position.
She has served on the university’s Faculty of Community Services’ dean’s advisory board. She currently chairs the university’s Alumni Council and is a board director for the BlackNorth Initiative and the Toronto International Film Festival, the report said.
In her previous role as a strategist for global public relations firm Ruder Finn & Rotman, she provided counsel to several leaders including the prime minister of Jamaica and ministers of government, as well as heads of crown corporations and media practitioners, it added. She also served as head of radio at the Jamaica Information Service.
The report noted Chin-Loy Chang’s work as a visiting lecturer at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in the faculty of Mass Communications and as the former co-chair of Food For The Poor Canada.
The incoming chancellor holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in Journalism from TMU and has received honorary degrees from both TMU in 2021 and the UWI in 2018.
