Speaker: Peter MacKinnon, former President, University of Saskatchewan; past Chair, Canadian Association of Universities and Colleges. 

Title: Differences and Divisions in the University Commons - Differences are (obviously) healthy; divisions are troubling.

Peter MacKinnon is a native of Prince Edward Island whose career unfolded principally in western Canada. In 2012, he stepped down following 13 years as president of the University of Saskatchewan after serving as dean of law for 10 years at the same institution. Since 2012, he served for two years as the inaugural Prime Ministers of Canada Fellow at the Public Policy Forum in Ottawa, and for another two years as interim president of Athabasca University.

He chaired the Canadian Academy of Health Science's Expert Panel on team science, and was commissioned by the Premier of Saskatchewan to review and report on sovereign wealth funds. That report was published by the Queen's Printer in Regina in 2013. He has also written two books on universities published by the University of Toronto Press: University Leadership and Public Policy (2014), and University Commons Divided: Exploring Debate and Dissent on Campus (January, 2018). He is the recipient of awards that include: Officer of the Order of Canada, Queen's Counsel, a Canadian Bar Association Distinguished Service Award, and honorary degrees from Queen's and other universities across Canada. He now lives in Canmore, Alberta.