Colleen M. Hanycz is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

academic who is currently the president of

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 stud ...

. She served as

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the office holder/ or boss in any school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in ...

Brescia University College Brescia University College is a Catholic liberal arts women's college located in London, Ontario, Canada. Affiliated with the University of Western Ontario, Brescia is the only university-level women's college in Canada. It has approximately 1 ...

from 2008-2015 and president of

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History L ...

from 2015-2021. On January 11, 2021, it was announced that Hanycz will become the 35th President of

starting July 1, 2021. She was the second

lay person In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a laype ...

principal in the history of Brescia, a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

school and Canada's only women's university, and she was the first woman and

layperson Laypeople or laypersons may refer to: * Someone who is not an expert in a particular field of study ** Lay judge *** Lay judges in Japan * Laity, members of a church who are not clergy ** Lay brother ** Lay sister ** Lay preacher ** Lay apostolat ...

to serve as president at La Salle.

Early life and education

Hanycz earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from St. Michael's College at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

. She completed her J.D. at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...

. Hanycz earned her

LL.M A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

and Ph.D. at Osgoode Hall Law School while working as a securities litigator in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and then as assistant dean and associate professor of law at Osgoode.

Brescia University College

In 2008, Hanycz left her teaching and assistant dean position at Osgoode to become Brescia's Principal, succeeding Theresa Topic. At Brescia, Hanycz led a strategic plan that resulted in an increase in Brescia's enrollment, student, faculty, and staff retention, and consolidation of academic programs. While she served as president, she taught in Brescia's women's leadership program and continued in the

LL.M. A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

program at

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall Law ...

in Toronto. Under her leadership, Brescia saw a 60 percent jump in enrollment to 1,500 full-time equivalent students.

La Salle University

In 2015, Hanycz became the first female

university president A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor i ...

. She was appointed to La Salle at a transitional time, inheriting a large deficit, prior mismanagement, and lower enrollment. In 2015, La Salle had a smaller a freshman class of 725, which was below its target. The 2015 freshman class was about 16 percent less than the 2014 freshman class of 860. ''University Affairs'' held an

exit interview An exit interview is a survey conducted with an individual who is separating from an organization or relationship. Most commonly, this occurs between an employee and an organization, a student and an educational institution, or a member and an a ...

for Hanycz after the announcement was made that she would be leaving Brescia for La Salle in April 2015. Hanycz stated, "I think La Salle is facing some of the same challenges that Brescia was facing in 2008. I'd like to think that I have some value to add to that based on what I have learned." Hanycz led similar consolidating initiatives at La Salle that she underwent with Brescia. La Salle downsized its student life programs and consolidate academic programs at the university, something known as "program prioritization," which was controversial for students, staff, and faculty members. Hanycz hoped that cuts and downsizing would lead to important cost-saving and cost-prioritizing measures. Under Hanycz, La Salle University tuition rates decreased by 29 percent, citing college affordability in her home country of Canada. However, a cost analysis suggested students would only save between $1,000 to $1,500 due to cuts in financial assistance. In 2020, La Salle University’s debt was downgraded by Fitch Ratings due to “... continued pressure on La Salle's enrollment, which has been further exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, competitive operating landscape, and reliance on an unsustainable level of endowment support in the intermediate term.” Despite the budget concerns, Hanycz’s compensation increased from $457,479 in 2019 to $497,214 in 2020.

Xavier University

Hanycz was appointed the 35th President of Xavier University on July 1, 2021, the first layperson and first woman President since the university's founding.

References

External links

Biography from La Salle University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanycz, Colleen Presidents of La Salle University University of Western Ontario faculty University of Toronto alumni Dalhousie University alumni Osgoode Hall Law School alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Xavier University people