THUNDER BAY -- Lakehead University president Dr. Moira McPherson has announced she will leave the position at the end of her current term in June of 2023.
McPherson offered few clues to the reason for her departure in a statement issued Friday afternoon.
The decision not to stand for a second term came after “months of deep thought and consideration,” she said, adding she looked forward to continuing to “serve as a member of our amazing university community.”
The former physical education professor succeeded Brian Stevenson as president in 2018, after serving as interim president before that.
Over the course of her 35-year career at Lakehead, McPherson also served as vice-president academic and provost.
She has overseen a turbulent period at the university, as it contended with the pandemic and the contentious severing of the Northern Ontario Medical School (NOSM), which she strenuously opposed.
McPherson said she informed the university’s board of governors Friday of her decision.
“As president, I am particularly proud of the ongoing progress to advance Indigenous strategic and academic priorities as we have forged new relationships with leaders, organizations, Institutes, and our Ogimaawin Indigenous Education Council (OIEC),” she said. “Continuing to authentically action those priorities and commitments, together, remains atop my most important undertakings.”
