Carleton President Roseann Runte has been appointed president and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, after announcing last week that she will be leaving the university on July 31.
Chris Carruthers, chair of the university’s Board of Governors (BoG), said he was surprised when it was announced on March 24 that she would be leaving, but is happy she is moving on to something else.
“She’s found a great opportunity,” he said. “She’s made a huge contribution to Carleton from academics, research, expanded building, athletics program, so yes . . . we will miss her.”
“I was surprised, yes, but happy because she has found something new to use her skill set in a new initiative,” he said.
Runte, the first female president of the university, was appointed president of Carleton in 2008 and resigned a year before her second term would have expired in 2018.
Fahd Alhattab, president of the Carleton University Students’ Association, said he was saddened by the news that she is leaving, but excited for what she does next.
“She’s been a strong leader in the community and a strong leader in many areas . . . [I’m] kind of saddened by the fact that we’ll be losing a very, very strong leader here at Carleton,” Alhattab said.
Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah, president of the Carleton Graduate Students’ Association, said the timing of Runte’s resignation was “interesting.”
“For someone who’s been at Carleton, it’s interesting to see that she’s leaving so soon,” she said. “For me, I’m hopeful that the decision-making process for someone who’s chosen will involve students.”
Carruthers said the process to find a new president for the university has not started yet, but will begin “right away.”
Appointing a new president first involves forming a selection committee that will talk to different on and off-campus stakeholders about what kind of skills the next president should have, Carruthers said.
The committee will include students, faculty members, and members of the community. After consultations, a job description will be created and a search firm will look for candidates both inside and outside Canada. He said he expects the process to take around a year to complete.
In the meanwhile, Carruthers said an interim president will be appointed from within the university.
“There’s a lot of great talent at Carleton so I think we’ll be able to resolve that reasonably well,” he said.
Owusu-Akyeeah said she is hopeful that the next president of the university will bring a different perspective and listen to students on the issues they care about. She said this represents a “fresh start,” and hopes the next president takes student input into account.
“I know that she hasn’t been seen as the greatest when it comes to issues on sexual violence and stuff like that,” she said. “I’m hoping on that regard that the person who comes in will listen to students and take what students see to be the right stances on certain things.”
Alhattab said that despite differences in opinion on Runte’s governance, her legacy is a positive one.
“Every president has had their controversies, some students like them and some students don’t, and whether you like Dr. Runte or not the one thing I don’t think you can deny is the amount of growth she’s brought to Carleton,” he said.
Carruthers said these debates are encouraged in academics, and are ultimately good for Carleton.
“Academics and universities thrive on discussions but there will always be differences in opinion and that’s good,” he said. “It’s good for politics and it’s good for everything.”
-File photo
