Gillian Siddall

 

Gillian Siddall, President + Vice-Chancellor of Emily Carr University of Art + Design.  Gillian holds an Honours BA and MA in English from the University of Guelph and a PhD in English from the University of Western Ontario. She began her career as a sessional lecturer at the University of Guelph, accepting a tenure-track appointment at Lakehead University in 1998, where she went on to become the founding Director of the teaching and learning centre, and then Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities for six years. Her research area is Canadian literature, and she has published extensively on the subject of musical improvisation, both within and outside a literary context. Her most recent publication, co-edited with Dr. Ellen Waterman and published by Duke University Press, is entitled Negotiated Moments: Improvisation, Sound, and Subjectivity.

Gillian most recently served as Vice-President Academic and Provost at the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD U) where she led the academic planning process. She is an advocate of Indigenization and decolonization within the university sector. Gillian is also a jazz vocalist and co-founder of the Guelph Jazz Festival.