Lakehead’s Board of Governors names Ross Murray, Q.C. as incoming Chair
October 2, 2018 – Thunder Bay and Orillia, ON
Lakehead University’s Board of Governors has appointed its current Vice-Chair, Ross Murray, as its next Chair. The decision was made during the Board’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday, Sept. 27.
Murray, a retired lawyer in Thunder Bay who has served on Lakehead’s Board of Governors since 2014, as its Vice-Chair since 2016, and as Chair of its Finance & Operations Committee since 2015, said he was honoured by the decision.
“As Board Chair, I am committed to working with my fellow Board members to provide leadership at the University and to implementing Lakehead’s new Strategic Plan,” said Murray. “I also look forward to continuing to support our new president, Dr. Moira McPherson, who shares my passion for Lakehead University.”
David Tamblyn, the Board’s outgoing Chair, said he is confident Murray will help further the Board’s strategic goals.
“I am very pleased that Ross has accepted to take on this role,” Tamblyn said. “His leadership experience in the legal community, as well as his familiarity and devotion to Northwestern Ontario and Simcoe County, will be an asset to our university and our students.”
Succeeding Murray’s role as Vice-Chair of Lakehead’s Board is Angela Maltese, a chartered accountant, certified financial planner, and partner with Grant Thornton LLP in Thunder Bay. Maltese has served as one of the Board of Governors’ Lieutenant Governors in Council since February 2014.
Ross W. Murray, Q.C.
Born in Dryden, Ontario, Ross Murray graduated from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Commerce and from York University with an MBA.
Murray spent four years in the money market and venture capital sectors before beginning his studies at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. When he was called to the bar, he and his family moved back to Thunder Bay, where he practiced law.
Murray was actively involved in initiating and developing the original Lakehead’s Faculty of Law proposal, and served as the University’s primary liaison with the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Since 1991, Murray has served as a Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario. He is Past Chair of the Law Society Finance Committee and Past Chair of the Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company. He is currently a Life Bencher.
Murray is a past president of the Thunder Bay Law Association and is currently an ex-officio director. He is also Past Chair of McKellar General Hospital where he served as Chair of Finance.
Prior to that, he served as director and treasurer of both the Thunder Bay Historical Museum and the art gallery, the National Exhibition Center. He was responsible for corporate fundraising for Thunder Bay’s then-new art gallery building on the Confederation College campus.
Murray had a general practice in Northwestern Ontario that involved litigation and solicitor’s work. It included serving small and medium sized businesses, prosecuting drug cases, and litigating family law, personal injury, and employment law cases.
Murray and his wife Elizabeth raised three children in Thunder Bay, and now enjoy five grandchildren.
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Media: For more information or interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Communications and Marketing Associate, at (807) 343-8177 or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.
Lakehead University has approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and 2,000 faculty and staff in 10 faculties at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead is a fully comprehensive university: home to Ontario’s newest Faculty of Law in 44 years, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and faculties of Engineering, Business Administration, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Social Sciences & Humanities, Science & Environmental Studies, Natural Resources Management, Education, and Graduate Studies. Maclean’s 2018 University Rankings place Lakehead University among Canada's Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities, as well as first in Total Research Dollars, second for Citations, and third for Scholarships and Bursaries. In 2017, Research Infosource named Lakehead Research University of the Year in its category for the third consecutive year. Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.
