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John MacMillan, Director, Communications and Marketing, will retire from the university at the end of July 2018.

‘Mac,’ as he is known throughout our university community, has led our Communications and Marketing (C&M) team for five years. During his tenure, the department advanced its market research capabilities, built great relations with internal and external stakeholders, improved the university’s internal communications, oversaw major innovations to the university’s website, and developed an efficient project management system. The university, in turn, benefited from a stronger social media presence, along with improvements to how our remarkable university tells its story.

Outside of running C&M, Mac has often summoned his forty years of experience as communicator and raconteur to lead in-house seminars on strategic communications planning, media relations and storytelling. He has also coached dozens of our graduate students in the Three-Minute Thesis competition. Finally, while it has often gone unnoticed by the university community, Mac has offered a steady hand in managing issues that confront the university, often serving as the university’s spokesperson during challenging circumstances. Along the way, he has imbued our university with his unique sense of humour, which serves as a credit to both his character and to his management approach.

In summary, Mac has improved the brand of this university and created a culture of communications within the university. As he enters his retirement years, our university will continue to benefit from a strong team of communications managers and professionals in the C&M department, as well as in various faculties and departments.

We thank Mac for his service to the university, and wish him the best for a well-deserved retirement.