Press Release – June 16, 2025
The Board of Directors of the Canada-Caribbean Institute (CCI) today announced that the President of Victoria University in the University of Toronto, Rhonda N. McEwen, is commencing duties as the Institute’s new Canadian Co-Chair.
The Canada-Caribbean Institute (CCI) was established in 2020. Currently made up of 13 colleges and universities, the CCI’s mission is to bring together scholars from across Canada and the Caribbean to collaborate on economic, environmental and social issues that contribute to the shared prosperity of both regions. The CCI supports research on a range of key policy areas including health; climate change; advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals; trade and investment; Caribbean culture and the diaspora; and government and foreign relations, among other areas.
President McEwen is taking on the duties of Canadian Co-Chair of the CCI from David Farrar, President of McMaster University. Dr. Farrar served as Canadian Co-Chair since 2023 and is demitting office at the conclusion of his term.
President McEwen says “It is an honour to serve as Canadian Co-Chair of the Canada-Caribbean Institute at a time when global higher education is at a crossroads. As traditional pathways face increasing pressure, forging new and meaningful academic partnerships is not only strategic—it is essential. The education I received at the University of the West Indies was among the most rigorous and challenging I encountered on my academic journey and Canada has much to gain from deeper scholarly exchange with the region. Through joint research, exchange programs and shared events, we can build a model of international partnership that strengthens both our societies and reimagines what global education can be. I look forward to working with our colleagues across the Caribbean to turn our shared goals into action.”
President McEwen is Co-chair of the CCI with Dr. Lincoln Edwards, President of Northern Caribbean University. Reflecting on the announcement Dr. Edwards noted that “Canadian and Caribbean post-secondary institutions have a long history of academic and research collaboration, and the CCI is playing an important role in strengthening those partnerships.”
“President McEwen’s leadership will be invaluable as CCI member institutions continue working to address the significant social, environmental and economic challenges facing our two regions, and as we deepen our historic ties. President McEwen having roots in the Caribbean and nurtured in Canada, has a special appreciation of these, and will bring the requisite leadership skill to help solve issues that are important to both regions.”
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Contact:
Robert Ready, Executive Director, Canada-Caribbean Institute 613 850-7897
About President Rhonda McEwen
Dr. Rhonda N. McEwen is the president and vice-chancellor of Victoria University in the University of Toronto. She is the senior executive officer responsible for its academic and administrative operation and reports to its governing body, the Board of Regents.
Dr. McEwen began her tenure as Victoria University’s 14th president in its 186-year history on July 1, 2022. Prior to this role, she served as University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) vice-principal, academic and dean with oversight of all academic programs, planning and policy, faculty, teaching and learning, and academic experience. She has also served as director of the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information & Technology (ICCIT) at UTM, where she transformed the program into a stand-alone unit with a new professional experience certificate in digital media, communication and technology.
Dr. McEwen holds an MBA in information technology from City University in London, England, an MSc in Telecommunications from the University of Colorado, and a PhD in Information from the University of Toronto. Dr. McEwen was previously U of T’s first special advisor on Anti-Racism and Equity. As a researcher, instructor, and consultant of new technologies around information practices, Dr. McEwen focuses particularly on mobile and tablet communication, virtual reality, communicating with robots, and social networks.
About Victoria University
Victoria University is a recognized leader in liberal arts and theological post-secondary education As one of the oldest universities in Canada, Victoria has earned a distinguished reputation for excellence and creativity, with alumni that include some of the country’s most recognized innovators, writers, artists, scientists, educators, theologians, and political leaders: literary critic and scholar, Northrop Frye; Nobel laureate and prime minister, Lester B. Pearson; pioneering doctor, Augusta Stowe-Gullen; Nobel laureate and co-inventor of the laser, Arthur Schawlow; authors Margaret Atwood, John Bemrose and Elizabeth Hay; artist, Robert Bateman; poet, Dennis Lee; actor, Donald Sutherland; the Honourable Bill Blaikie; former ambassador, Kenneth Taylor; and filmmaker, Norman Jewison.
The school consists of two academic colleges:
Victoria College, the undergraduate college of Victoria University, which serves as one of the seven colleges in the University of Toronto Faculty of Arts and Science.
Emmanuel College, the postgraduate theological college of Victoria University, affiliated with the United Church of Canada and the Toronto School of Theology.
About the Canada-Caribbean Institute
Canada-Caribbean Institute (CCI) is a collaborative initiative between colleges and universities in Canada and the Caribbean. Its mission is to connect academic institutions, scholars, businesses, public sectors, civil society, and cultural communities. The CCI aims to advance social, environmental, and economic issues vital to both regions’ shared prosperity.
The annual CCI Research Symposium provides a forum for discussion and knowledge exchange. The 2024 Research Symposium was hosted by McMaster University. It brought together researchers from the Caribbean and Canada on the topics of the Climate Crisis, Resilience, and Alternative Energy Sources. See www.canadacaribbeaninstitute.org for more information.
President Rhonda N. McEwen Is an ideal choice for this co-Chair position with the Canada-Caribbean Institute. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with David Farrar, President of McMaster University while he was co-Chair of CCI. President McEwen is the ideal choice to assume Dr Farrar’s position. Welcome Prof McEwen.