Dr. Rhonda Lenton 

Rhonda L. Lenton is the eighth President and Vice-Chancellor of York University. She joined York in 2002 as Dean of the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies, and went on to serve as Vice-Provost Academic and then Vice-President Academic & Provost. A dedicated champion of community engagement and innovative partnerships, she has significantly expanded York’s institutional collaborations with government, business, community organizations, and other postsecondary education partners. 

In addition to her roles at York, Dr. Lenton serves on Universities Canada’s Board of Directors and its Research Committee, the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) Government and Community Relations Committee, the Hemispheric University Consortium Executive Committee, and she is both Chair of the COU Relationships Committee Co-Chair of the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer (ONCAT) Board of Directors. She previously served on the Executive of the Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents and represented that Council on the eCampus Ontario Board and ONCAT. 

Before joining York, Dr. Lenton was an associate dean and professor at McMaster University. A sociologist by training, her areas of teaching and research expertise include gender, family conflict, research methods and more recently, higher education. 

In recognition of her leadership and service as a senior executive in higher education, Dr. Lenton was named one of the top 100 most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) in 2015, and in 2016 received the Angela Hildyard Recognition Award for the continual demonstration of innovative leadership in advancing the mission of, and achieving outstanding contributions to, her institution and to higher education.