About Us
Dr. Peter Meehan
Dr. Peter Meehan
President and Vice Chancellor
Office of the President

Ed.D – University of Toronto
M.A. – University of Windsor
B.Ed – University of Toronto
B.A. – St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto

519-884-8111 

28253
sjupresident@uwaterloo.ca
Peter Meehan President and Vice Chancellor
BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Peter M. Meehan serves as St. Jerome’s University’s 8th President and Vice Chancellor. Dr. Meehan came to St. Jerome’s University with a distinguished record of senior leadership in Catholic higher education. From 2014-2020, he was the President of Corpus Christi/St. Mark’s College, the affiliated Catholic college of the University of British Columbia, where he led the college through a period of new program development and a fivefold increase in student enrollments. 

 

Dr. Meehan has a strong track record of working across institutions to create successful partnerships. Prior to taking his post in Vancouver, Dr. Meehan was Chair of Seneca College’s School of Liberal Arts and Academic Partnerships and Dean in the Faculty of Academic Quality and University Partnerships, where he was responsible for Seneca’s ground-breaking liberal arts and science partnership with York University and the University of Toronto.

 

Dr. Meehan received a Doctorate in Education from the University of Toronto. His academic research and teaching focus was on the social and educational history of the Catholic Church in Canada. His doctoral thesis was on Catholic education in Ontario and his most recent research, which was commissioned by the Archdiocese of Toronto, details the life of Phillip Pocock, the seventh Archbishop of Toronto.

 

Outside of St. Jerome’s, Dr. Meehan is currently serving as Chair of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities of Canada and the past Chair of the ACCUC.

PUBLICATIONS

The content that follows may only represent a portion of my work.

 

Manuscripts

 

Meehan, Peter M. “To know God and to make God known”: The Life of Philip Pocock, Seventh Archbishop of Toronto (in progress - commissioned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto).

-- “Counted but they don’t count”: The Lay Fight for Ontario’s Separate Schools, 1929-1939. (unpublished) 

 

Chapters/Edited Volumes

 

Meehan, Peter M. “Renewal and Reform: Philip Pocock, Seventh Archbishop of Toronto” in Séamus Hogan, Extraordinary Ordinaries: A History of the Bishops of Toronto. Ottawa: Novalis. 2018. 

-- “’The lesser of two evils’? Archbishop Philip Pocock, Vatican II and the Birth Control Controversy” in Michael Attridge, Catherine E. Clifford and Gilles Routhier, eds., Vatican II – Canadian   Experiences.  University of Ottawa Press. 2011. 

Meehan, Peter M. and McGahan, Elizabeth, eds. Historical Studies, Vols. 71-73. Ottawa: Historia Ecclesiae Catholicae Canadensis Publications Inc., 2005-2007. 

Lebrun, Richard A. and Meehan, Peter M. eds.  Historical Studies, Vols. 69-70. Ottawa: Historia Ecclesiae Catholicae Canadensis Publications Inc., 2002-2004. 

Meehan, Peter M., ed.  The Political Economy of Canada [Selected Readings]. Toronto. Nelson Thompson Learning.  2001 [second edition 2003; third edition 2006]. 

 

Refereed Articles

 

Meehan, Peter M. ’Purified Socialism’ and the Church in Saskatchewan: Tommy Douglas, Philip Pocock and Hospitalization, 1944-1948” in Historical Studies, Vol. 77, Canadian Catholic Historical Association, 2011. 

--"The East Hastings By-election of 1936 and the Ontario Separate Schools Tax Question” in Historical Studies, Volume 68, Canadian Catholic Historical Association, 2002. 

--“From College to University: The Basilian Fathers and Assumption College, 1950-1963” in Historical Studies, Volume 64, Canadian Catholic Historical Association, 1998. 

 

Reviews/Encyclopedia Entries

 

Meehan, Peter M. Review of Rosa Bruno-Jofré and Jon Igelmo Zaldivar, 
Catholic Education in the Wake of Vatican II (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017) in Historical Studies in Education / Revue d’histoire de l’éducation, Fall, 2018. 

-- Review of “Faith on the Prairies: Social Catholics and the CCF in the Generation Before Vatican II” in Historical Studies, The Canadian Catholic Historical Association, Volume 85, 2019. 

-- Review of The Canny Scot – Archbishop James Morrison of Antigonish (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015) in Historical Studies, The Canadian Catholic Historical Association, Volume 82, 2016. 

-- Encyclopaedia entry: “Pocock, Philip F.” in Michael Quisinsky and Peter Walter eds., Personenlexikon zum Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzil. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 2012. 

-- Review of Servants of All – A History of the Permanent Diaconate in the Archdiocese of Toronto, 1970-2007 (Toronto: Novalis Inc., 2010). Bulletin, The Canadian Catholic Historical Association, Volume XXII, No. 16, Fall 2010. 

-- Encyclopaedia entries and revisions: Benedictines; Ursulines; Sulpicians; Sisters of St. Joseph; Jesuits; Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary; The Brothers of the Christian Schools. The Canadian Encyclopaedia. Historica Foundation of Canada, 2009.     

-- Review of Mark McGowan, Michael Power - The Struggle to Build the Catholic Church on the Canadian Frontier (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2005). University of Toronto Quarterly, Volume 76:1, “Letters in Canada 2005,” Winter 2006-07.  

 

Public Lectures/Keynotes/Conference Presentations

 


The content that follows may only represent a portion of my work.

 

Keynote: “The Moment of the Laity: Lay People and the Renewal of the Church, Legatus Vancouver, 3 January 2019. 

Conference Paper: Meehan, Peter M. “Realizing Henry Carr’s Dream: Catholic Studies at St. Mark’s College at the University of British Columbia”, The Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, June 4-5, 2019.

Keynote: “Those who CAN and DO – Rethinking Liberal Education.” Seneca College Liberal Studies Symposium, Seneca College, 26 October 2018. 

Keynote: “Truth, Reality and the Importance of Catholic Higher Education,” UBC Newman Association of UBC, Annual General Meeting, 5 May 2018. 

Public Lecture: “Christianity: Engagement and Encounter During the Pontificate of Francis,” St. Mark’s College, University of British Columbia. 29 March 2017. 

Public Lecture: “A Kairos Moment for Mercy.” RCAV Lenten Lectures. 19 February 2016. 

Public Lecture: “Aggiornamento Now: Realizing the Gifts of the Second Vatican Council Through the Pontificate of Francis.” Archdiocese of Vancouver. 17 September 2016. 

Keynote: “Building, Praying and Organizing: The Archdiocese of Winnipeg Prior to Vatican II.”  Symposium - The Archdiocese of Winnipeg at 100: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. St. Paul’s College, University of Manitoba, 23 October 2015. 

Keynote: “Why Catholic Higher Education Matters”. Vancouver College, Vancouver, BC, 18 October 2014. 

Keynote: “Lost Leaders: Narratives of Service, Sacrifice and Faith in the History of Catholic Education in Ontario”. St. Augustine’s Seminary, Institute of Theology Colloquium. 6 May 2014.   

Conference Paper: “‘All is not well here’: The Troubled Leadership of A.A. Sinnott in the Archdiocese of Winnipeg, 1916-1954”. The Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities, Victoria University, Victoria, BC.  2 June 2013.    

Keynote: “Teaching a Personal Faith to a Public World – Reflections on Researching the History of the Catholic Church in Canada”. Catholic Archivists Group Conference, King’s University College, University of Western Ontario, London, ON. 18 May 2010.    

Conference Paper: “’Purified Socialism and the Church in Saskatchewan: Philip Pocock, Tommy Douglas and ‘Hospitalization’, 1944-1948.” Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec. 31 May 2010.

Keynote: “Primus Inter Pares: Profiles in 20th Century Canadian Catholic Leadership.” Durham Catholic District School Board Supervisory Officers Conference, St. Augustine’s Seminary, Toronto, ON.  29 January 2010. 

PROFESSIONAL, ADMINISTRATIVE, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

The content that follows may only represent a portion of my work.

 

Chair, Seminary Committee – Archdiocese of Vancouver (2020)

Chair, Clergy Education and Formation Committee – Archdiocese of Vancouver (2020)

Director, Centre for Christian Engagement – St. Mark’s College, UBC (2019-20)

Conference Delegate, Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities (2019)

Past Chair, Association of Catholic Universities and Colleges in Canada (2018 – )

Vice Chair, Association of Catholic Universities and Colleges in Canada (2018 – )

Director, Vancouver College Board (2015-20)

Director, Catholic Education Research Council (Can/US) (2016-19)

Senator, University of British Columbia (2014-20)

Member (ex officio), St. Mark’s College Board (2014-20)

Chair (ex officio), St. Mark’s College Senate (2014-20)

Chair, Corpus Christi College Educational Council (2014-19)

Chair, School of Liberal Arts, Seneca College (2009-14)

Chair, Degree Council, Seneca College (2013-14)

Chair, Academic Council, Seneca College (2013-14)

President, Canadian Catholic Historical Association (2008-10)

Editor, Historical Studies (2002-07)

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