Loyalist College announces new president

Ann Marie Vaughan has been named to replace Maureen Piercy as president of Loyalist College. Piercy retired Aug. 31, and since then the post has been filled by interim president Dianne Spencer. Photo courtesy of the College of the North Atlantic

By James Gaughan and Selena Steele-Clough

BELLEVILLE – Loyalist College has announced that it has a new president.

Dr. Ann Marie Vaughan has been unanimously approved by the college’s board of governors to become the fifth president of Loyalist, according to a press release sent out late Tuesday morning.

Vaughan most recently served as the president and chief executive officer of the College of the North Atlantic in Newfoundland and Labrador, from 2011 to 2016.

“I am really looking forward to being a part of Loyalist,” Vaughan told QNet News.

Vaughan said that when she was preparing for the job interview she watched videos on the college’s YouTube page and was very impressed with what she saw.

“What I found was every single student talked about the value of the relationship with the faculty member.”

Continuing to have students and staff work closely together is one of her key goals for the college going forward.

Vaughan explains more of her goals for the college in the video below, including how she wants to help Loyalist to fit into the community.

Former college president Maureen Piercy announced her retirement this year after more than 28 years at Loyalist, 11 of them as president. Loyalist is currently under the leadership of interim president Dianne Spencer.

Board of governors chair June Hagerman told QNet News Tuesday that the board chose Vaughan because of “her expertise, her tireless energy and her commitment to putting students first in terms of meeting the needs of a diverse student population.”

Vaughan’s strengths, Hagerman said, include advocating for the needs of aboriginal students, as well as those with special needs and first-generation students.

The board of governors hopes that Vaughan “champions all the needs of our students and listens to staff and students in the community,” she said.

Prior to being president of the College of the North Atlantic, Vaughan was the director of distance education and learning technologies at Memorial University in St. John’s from 2001 to 2011.

She received her doctorate in higher education leadership from the University of Calgary in 2015.

Vaughan will officially join Loyalist on Nov. 7.