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 Sheldon Levy
Chair
Sheldon Levy assumed the role of Chair of Council on July 1, 2009 and, as such, is Chair of COU's Executive Committee. He also chairs the Board of Directors of the COU Holding Association Inc. and COU's Standing Committee on Nominations. He has co-chaired the College-University Consortium Council, chaired COU's Government and Community Relations Committee and is a member of the Working Group on University Capacity and the Working Group on Institutional Issues. He has also served as a member of COU's Standing Committee on Relationships with Other Postsecondary Institutions. A leader in the Ontario postsecondary sector for more than 30 years, Mr. Levy assumed the office of President and Vice-Chancellor of Ryerson University on August 1, 2005 and was reappointed for a second five-year term to serve until July 31, 2015. He has served as Vice-President Government and Institutional Relations, University of Toronto; Vice-President Finance and Strategy, University of Ontario Institute of Technology; Vice-President Institutional Affairs, York University; and President of Sheridan College, now the Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. Mr. Levy is a member of the Board of Directors of the Innovation Institute of Ontario; the Board and Advisory Council of the Toronto Region Research Alliance; and the Standing Advisory Committee on International Relations of the Association of Universities & Colleges of Canada. He also serves on the Campaign Cabinet of the United Way of Greater Toronto as Chair of the Universities and Colleges Sector. Mr. Levy is recognized for his continuing record of advancing academic quality, research excellence and student success, as well as the university as city-builder. In 2007, he was honoured with a Special Recognition Award by the Canadian New Media Awards (CNMA) for his longstanding support and promotion of interactive digital media. He earned his BSc (Honours, First Class) and MA degrees from York University, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by York University in 1999.
 Bonnie M. Patterson, O.Ont
President & CEO
In December 2009, Prof. Bonnie M. Patterson was appointed President and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities, after serving as Interim President since September 21, 2009. Prof. Patterson had served as President of COU from 1995 to 1998 before taking the post of President of Trent University, a position that she held for 11 years. She also served as Dean of Business at Ryerson University (then known as Ryerson Polytechnic Institute), and chaired and taught at its School of Administration and Information Management. Prof. Patterson served as one of four Canadian university presidents to the Council of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. She has served as Chair of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and for nine years as a Director on the board of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre including two as its Chair. She currently serves on the board of directors for the International Consortium on Anti-Virals (ICAV). In addition, Prof. Patterson served as the province's representative on the founding board of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and participated in a number of provincial advisory committees including the Biotechnology Commercialization Centre Fund; Health Industries Advisory Committee on Sectoral Strategy Development; and the Centres of Excellence, Ontario Technology Fund. In 2006, she was recognized by the Women's Executive Network with a Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada award in the Trailblazers and Trendsetters category. In January 2010, Prof. Patterson was appointed to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honour, for championing the advancement of high-quality postsecondary education in Ontario and Canada. She holds a BA and MLS from the University of Western Ontario.
Contact: Bonnie Patterson
Sharon Berman
Executive Director, Corporate Services Sharon Berman provides leadership for finance and administration overseeing the financial affairs of COU and its affiliated organizations, the management of COU's human resources and the co-ordination of information technology systems within the Secretariat. The division’s responsibilities range from financial reporting, budget planning and contract administration; to human resource policy, payroll and benefits; to network administration and new IT projects implementation.
Ms. Berman has more than 15 years of government experience in progressively responsible positions, with expertise in financial and human resource management, policy and program development, information technology project planning, operations, contract/procurement management and grant administration. Prior to joining COU in November 2007, Sharon worked for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, where she was Associate Director in the Drug Programs Branch. She also worked for the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, concluding her time there as Finance Manager in the Universities Branch. Ms. Berman holds an honours BA in business administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and an MBA from the University of Toronto. Contact: Sharon Berman
 Peter Gooch
Senior Director, Policy and Analysis
Peter Gooch provides leadership to the Policy and Analysis division, which addresses the following: policy issues concerning teaching, learning and other academic matters in support of the Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents (OCAV) and its affiliates; issues relevant to four health sciences affiliates including medicine, nursing, rehabilitation sciences, and aging and health; and issues concerning funding, institutional planning, and accountability in support of the Council on University Planning and Analysis (CUPA).
Dr. Gooch brings to the position a wealth of policy experience in the Ontario public sector. Most recently, he was Director of Strategy, Policy and Planning for the Toronto District School Board. Before that, he served as Director of the Education Finance Branch in the Ministry of Education, and led a team of analysts providing business and financial advice to program policy areas in the Ministry of Community and Social Services. Dr. Gooch also worked at the Management Board Secretariat and briefly for the ministries of Housing and Health and Long-Term Care. He received his BA, MA and PhD from the University of Toronto, and has completed executive and professional programs at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles and the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. Contact: Peter Gooch
 George Granger
Executive Director
Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC)
George Granger oversees the operations of the award-winning OUAC, the highly automated centralized application processing service centre. OUAC uses state-of-the-art computer and data management capabilities to process Ontario universities’ undergraduate applications to the province’s undergraduate, medical, law, teacher education and rehabilitation sciences programs, as well as to the Ontario College of Art & Design. Although its core function is application processing, OUAC also collects academic data, transcripts, test scores and other admission data through electronic means. With duplication eliminated and hard-copy documentation reduced, this automation results in significant savings to applicants as well as to the institutions.
Mr. Granger, who joined OUAC in 2003, brings vast experience with the Ontario university community to this leadership position. He joined the University of Guelph as an admissions counsellor in 1980, a year later moved to Wilfrid Laurier University where he became Associate Registrar and Director of Admissions, and in 1995 joined McMaster University as its Registrar. He has served on numerous committees, special task forces and affiliate groups including the COU Task Force on Admissions, the OUAC Advisory Board and the INFO Editorial Board. He is a past president of the Ontario University Registrars’ Association. In addition, Mr. Granger has served on the executive of the Ontario Universities’ Council on Admissions for nine years, and chaired its Committee on Admission Practices for four years. He is also a past member of the Educational Testing Services TOEFL Advisory Board.
Mr. Granger spent his early years in the Niagara Region and attended the University of Guelph where he earned his bachelor’s degree in economics. After graduation, he held positions in the provincial Ministry of Transportation and the then-Canada Trust Company. Contact: George Granger
Jennifer Grass
Senior Director, Communications and Public Affairs Jennifer Grass is responsible for building awareness about the strategic importance of the university sector and working with government to advance sector issues. Under her leadership, the unit leverages key information from the universities and from the Secretariat’s Research, Analysis and Policy Division to support the engagement of COU within a wide range of stakeholder groups including the government, media, student organizations and faculty associations.
Ms. Grass, who joined COU in October 2007, brings to her leadership role vast experience in communications and public affairs advising corporate and non-profit leaders as a consultant and principal of several consulting firms. She also has a strong appreciation for research, having participated in the design of her former firm’s online research capacity. An award-winning journalist, she worked for the Toronto Star, Financial Times and Financial Post, before embarking on a consulting career that has encompassed media relations, marketing communications, government relations and issues management. She earned her honours BA in English at Queen’s University, where she was also Editor of the Journal.
Contact: Jennifer Grass
 Barbara Hauser
Secretary to Council and Senior Policy Advisor
As Secretary to Council and Senior Policy Advisor since 2004, Barbara Hauser directs the general work of the Secretariat in support of the ongoing business of Council, including the preparation of agendas and documentation for Council, Executive Committee, Nominations Committee and Executive Heads, ensuring continuity of policy and program direction in all meeting material. She also directs the support for the Council of Chairs of Ontario Universities, the Board of Directors of COU Holding Association Inc., and the Budget and Audit Committee, and provides support for several task forces and working groups. In her previous position at COU as Director of Support Services within Research, Analysis and Policy, Ms. Hauser provided research and policy support to the Council of Senior Administrative Officers and the Ontario Council on University Research, and prepared analytical and policy advice in a wide range of areas within the division. Ms. Hauser, who joined COU in March 2003, has extensive experience in postsecondary policy and program delivery, both in Ontario and Saskatchewan. Her background includes senior advisory positions in the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, providing policy advice and program development in a variety of areas including accountability and governance, research funding, student financial assistance and private career college regulation. She served on the Steering Committee of the 1991-93 Ontario Task Force on University Accountability and was a member of the secretariat of the 1996 Advisory Panel on Future Directions for Postsecondary Education. Ms. Hauser has an honours BA and MA in English from the University of Regina.
Contact: Barbara Hauser
Robbin Tourangeau
Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives Robbin Tourangeau manages a number of strategic projects that includes COU’s advocacy efforts at the federal level, new initiatives intended to increase collaboration between universities and other partners such as the public service and the voluntary sector, and special policy projects, particularly those related to poverty and to increasing the participation of vulnerable populations.
Over the last 10 years, Ms. Tourangeau has worked as a policy advisor on social, urban and community issues to a number of non-governmental organizations and government departments. In this capacity, she has developed expertise in policy development and advocacy from both within and outside government. Most recently, Ms. Tourangeau, who joined COU in December 2007, worked as Director of Policy in the Office for Disability Issues. She has also served as Vice-President, Public Policy and Government Relations, at Imagine Canada, as a senior policy advisor in the Office of the Prime Minister, and as a senior policy analyst at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. She began her career in Ottawa as a federal Parliamentary Intern. Ms. Tourangeau earned her BA in history and French literature from the University of Toronto and her MA in history from Queen’s University. Contact: Robbin Tourangeau
Donna Woolcott
Executive Director, Quality Assurance
Donna Woolcott assumed the new role of Executive Director, Quality Assurance in October 2009. Dr. Woolcott is responsible for overseeing the transition of the current framework of both the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies (OCGS) and the Undergraduate Program Review Audit Committee to a new Quality Assurance System. She works closely with the Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents and OCGS to ensure a smooth transition to the new system and the creation of a new Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance. The new system’s goal is to ensure the quality of all university programs leading to degrees, diplomas and certificates granted by Ontario’s publicly assisted universities, as well as the integrity in the institutions’ quality assurance processes. Prior to joining COU, Dr. Woolcott served as Vice-President (Academic) at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Before that, the University of Guelph was Dr. Woolcott’s professional home for more than 20 years, as a faculty member, as Chair of the Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, and ultimately as Assistant Vice-President (Academic). She has held visiting scholar/research appointments at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia and the Wageningen Agricultural University in the Netherlands. She was appointed to the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission, which has responsibility for approving new programs and monitoring quality assurance at the universities in Canada’s three Maritime provinces. In 2003 Dr. Woolcott received the Centenary Award from the University of Guelph, in recognition for her contributions to the university. Dr. Woolcott holds a BHSc from the University of Guelph, an MSc in Nutrition from the University of Manitoba and a PhD in Applied Human Nutrition from the University of Guelph. Contact: Donna Woolcott
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