Griffith Group Seeks New President for Acadia University
February 16, 2023 – Toronto-based executive recruitment firm Griffith Group has been called in by Acadia University to lead its search for a new president and vice chancellor. Jane Griffith, managing partner and founder, and Sam Walton, partner, are spearheading the assignment.
“Reporting to the board of governors, and working with engaged and committed faculty, staff, students, and alumni network, the president champions Acadia’s mission to provide a personalized and rigorous liberal arts education; promotes a robust and respectful scholarly community; and inspires a diversity of students to become critical thinkers, lifelong learners, engaged citizens, and responsible global leaders,” said Griffith Group.
Acadia’s next president will build, strengthen, and sustain relationships across campus, provincially, nationally, and globally through an authentic, transparent, collegial leadership style, said the search firm. The president serves as a champion of the university’s advancement activities, and as an ambassador and representative for Acadia with the Acadia Alumni Association, with other Maple League University presidents, and with municipal, provincial, and federal government partners. The president will also be expected to enhance the university’s commitment to social justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism.
The ideal candidate will be a “courageous, inspirational and accomplished leader who has a track record of successful senior administrative roles from either a post-secondary institution, or another organization of like caliber,” said Griffith Group. Experience from within the Canadian university sector and with a bicameral governance structure are both considered strong assets. “As a values-based, community-engaged leader, your commitment to all aspects of social justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism is evident in your knowledge, relationships and actions,” the search firm said.
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Founded in 1838, Acadia University is one of the oldest universities in Canada known for providing a quality, high-engagement, primarily undergraduate student experience. With a total enrollment of almost 4,000, Acadia attracts students from every province and territory and more than 60 countries.
Toronto-Based Recruiter
Founded by Ms. Griffith in 2021, Griffith Group is a retained executive search firm focused on senior-level recruitment for academic, not-for-profit, and broader public organizations across Canada. The firm is committed to supporting, championing, and advancing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Griffith Group is 100 percent owned by Ms. Griffith, who identifies in two equity-seeking categories, and is a certified diverse supplier company, through WBE Canada. WBE Canada certifies Canadian B2B businesses that are at least 51 percent owned, managed, and controlled by women. Griffith Group is also a member of the Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and a signatory of the BlackNorth Initiative, and of the federal government’s 50-30 Challenge.
Ms. Griffith, a veteran search leader, is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer on hiring practices, with a specific focus on diversity and inclusion initiatives. She has spoken at conferences across Canada and at the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto. Prior to founding Griffith Group, she was a partner and national diversity leader with three national and global search firms. She also founded Griffith Research, with clients in Australia, Dubai, Canada, and the U.S. She holds a bachelor’s degree in legal history from the University of Calgary and a master’s degree in legal history from the University of Toronto.
Ms. Walton draws on her deep executive search experience and diverse sector expertise to execute complex search assignments and recruit talented leaders across a broad range of functions. Ms. Walton holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with a focus in photography from Ryerson University and is currently completing the Award of Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion program at the University of British Columbia and the Gender Analytics Specialization: Gender Equity Through Inclusive Design by the Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE) at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. She has successfully completed the LGBTQI2S inclusion training from Egale Canada Human Rights Trust and recently concluded the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) training course from AODA.ca.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
