Dr. Vianne Timmons

President and Vice-Chancellor, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Dr. Vianne Timmons, President and Vice-Chancellor of Memorial University of Newfoundland

Media

Vianne Timmons, President and Vice-chancellor, University of Regina

Vianne Timmons, President and Vice-chancellor, University of Regina

President Timmons - ALS ice bucket challenge

Today Dr. Vianne Timmons, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Regina, participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. She participated in honour of her brother-in-law, who has ALS. “I have watched with great encouragement as the Ice Bucket Challenge has swept across the world, helping raise money and create awareness about a terrible disease,” said President Timmons. “My family has been impacted personally, as my brother-in-law has faced this diagnosis with immense courage, showing his character by worrying more about how his illness will affect others rather than himself. I am therefore proud to participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge in his honour. He has been an example to our family about how to confront life’s toughest obstacles”. She challenged: • President John Meehan, Campion College • President Bryan Hillis, Luther College • President Mark Dockstator, First Nations University of Canada • President Devon Peters, University of Regina Students’ Union Please go to the link below and donate to help us create a world without ALS. http://www.ALS.CA/ICEBUCKETCHALLENGE

Dialogue with President Timmons - January 15, 2013

Faculty and staff joined President and Vice-Chancellor Vianne Timmons to engage in an open dialogue about the University. Professor Marc Spooner of the Faculty of Education moderated the discussion.

Biography

Dr. Vianne Timmons, OC, took office as the 13th president and vice-chancellor of Memorial in April 2020, coming from the University of Regina where she had served as president since 2008. During her tenure there, the university attained its highest-ever enrolment and diversity, greater recognition for faculty work, and increased levels of external research funding.

Dr. Timmons grew up in Labrador City as one of six children and moved to Nova Scotia during high school. She holds a BA (Mt. Allison), B.Ed. (Acadia), M.Ed. (Gonzaga), and PhD (Calgary).

A teacher by training, she maintains a wide-ranging research program emphasizing family literacy and inclusive education. Her credits include nine books, more than a dozen book chapters, approximately 40 peer-reviewed articles, 30+ funded research projects (as principal or co-investigator), and more than 200 invited lectures.

Her many awards include Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women (WXN), a National Inclusive Education Award, a Humanitarian Award (Red Cross), a Community Literacy Award (Canada Post), and the first Gender and Leadership in Higher Education Award (EMULIES). In 2019 she received the Indspire Award for Education. In 2017 she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada for her lifetime contributions to inclusive education, family literacy, Indigenous post-secondary education, and women’s leadership.

An active volunteer, Dr. Timmons has served various post-secondary and other organizations, including as: president, International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; chair, Universities Canada's Standing Committee on International Relations; and member, Canada Foundation for Innovation.

Recognition/Reconnaissance

Red Cross Humanitarian Award | Professional

Awarded in 2010 in recognition of national and international work in the field of disabilities and education

Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada Recognition Award | Professional

Awarded in 2014 for leadership in promoting diversity in academic institutions

Canada's "Top 100 Most Powerful Women" | Professional

Canada's "Top 100 Most Powerful Women" in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011

Canadian Association for Community Living's National Inclusive Education Award | Professional

Awarded in 2010

Canadian Bureau for International Education President's Award for Distinguished Leadership in International Education | Professional

Awarded in 2015 for advocacy for international education and research

Additional Titles and Affiliations

Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada

The Inter-American Space for Women Leaders in Higher Education Institutions of the Americas (EMULIES)

Canadian Association for Education Psychology

Bras d'Or Mi'kmaq First Nation

Expertise

  • Women and Leadership
  • University Administration
  • Post-Secondary Education Policy
  • International Education
  • Innovation
  • Inclusive Education
  • Family Literacy
  • Community Affairs
  • Education and Educational Leadership
  • Developmental Disability
  • Academic Leadership
  • Aboriginal Education

Education/Éducation

  • University of Calgary
    Education Psychology
    Ph.D., 1993
  • Mount Allison University
    Psychology and English
    B.A., 1979
  • Gonzaga University
    Special Education
    M.Ed, 1983
  • Acadia University
    Special Education
    B.Ed., 1980