The University of King’s College Board of Governors thanks and commends President William Lahey for his exemplary leadership and remarkably successful tenure and accepts the President’s decision not to extend his term beyond the current contract. This means the President will finish his term on June 30, 2026.
A rigorous feedback process, involving members of the King’s faculty, staff, student body, Board and alumni found broad support for the President to stay on past the 10-year mark, but President Lahey feels confident the core initiatives and goals he set out to achieve will either be fully realized, or ready to be fully realized under new stewardship, by the end of his tenure.
The search process for a new university president will begin in earnest in early 2025, and the Board Executive Committee is already deeply engaged in preparing for this initiative.
We have every confidence the search will find a successful candidate who can carry on the momentum initiated by President Lahey in academic excellence and innovation, exceptional student experience, enrolment growth, community partnership, campus safety, diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, infrastructure improvements and strategic fundraising.
President Lahey’s presidency will be remembered for the enormous amounts of personal time that he and his wife Kathryn generously and enthusiastically gave to King’s students and to all members of the King’s community. His contributions include the exceptional leadership he provided to King’s and the higher education sector of Nova Scotia during the pandemic. They also include path-breaking work that has been accomplished in partnership with the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia and other organizations and individuals in the African Nova Scotian community to make Kings a welcoming university for African Nova Scotian and Black students.
As King’s and Halifax (Kjipuktuk) sit on unceded Mi’kmaw land in Mi’kma’ki, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to the President in helping King’s emerge as a leader amongst post-secondary institutions when it comes to Reconciliation. The Board looks forward to welcoming a new President who shares his conviction that acknowledgement of the treaties of peace and friendship must be the basis of proportionate and meaningful actions in partnership with the Mi’kmaw people, such as the recently established Mi’kmaw Journalism Initiative.
As we begin our search for President Lahey’s successor, we will continue to enjoy the eighteen months ahead we have with him, as we work together to further realize the remarkable legacy of his extraordinarily successful and impactful ten-year tenure as leader of this university.
Sincerely,
Douglas G. Ruck, KC, BA’72
Chair, Board of Governors
Inset: President William Lahey, photo by Adams Photography
