April 7, 2015 – William Robson, President and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute, announces the appointment of Indira V. Samarasekera to the National Council, an esteemed group of Canadians tasked with providing guidance for the Institute’s top-quality research program.
“Indira is in the front rank of Canada’s education leaders,” remarked Robson. “Her knowledge and accomplishments in postsecondary education, and her involvement in a range of business and public-policy initiatives, make her an excellent addition to the council.”
Appointed in 2005, Dr. Indira V. Samarasekera will complete her second term as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Alberta on July 1, 2015. Some of her notable accomplishments include the development of a renewed vision and mission in Dare to Discover; the establishment of numerous international partnerships; and the initiation of several major capital projects on campus, which together, total in excess of $1 billion.
Over a professional career spanning three decades, she has distinguished herself as one of Canada’s leading Metallurgical Engineers. As a Fulbright-Hays Scholar, she earned a Master of Science from the University of California in 1976 and was granted a Doctorate of Metallurgical Engineering from the University of British Columbia in 1980.
Dr. Samarasekera has addressed local, national and international audiences on issues in post-secondary education and research, and has served as moderator, presenter, and facilitator at several World Economic Forums. She sits on national and international boards, such as ScotiaBank, Magna and the Rideau Hall Foundation, and has served as a member of STIC (Science, Technology and Innovation Council) and chair of the WUN (World Universities Network).
She is member of the Royal Society of Canada, an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Engineering, and has received honorary degrees from the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto, Université de Montréal, the University of Waterloo, the University of Western Ontario, and Queens University in Belfast, Ireland.
For more information please contact: James Fleming of the C.D. Howe Institute at 416-865-1904; email:jfleming@cdhowe.org.
The C.D. Howe Institute is an independent not-for-profit research institute whose mission is to raise living standards by fostering economically sound public policies. It is Canada’s trusted source of essential policy intelligence, distinguished by research that is nonpartisan, evidence-based and subject to definitive expert review. It is considered by many to be Canada’s most influential think tank.