David Agnew

With extensive experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors, David Agnew became the fifth president of Seneca in July 2009.

Under his leadership, Seneca has experienced record growth in enrolment and expanded its offerings in both undergraduate and graduate programs. One of the largest colleges in Canada, Seneca is growing its applied research, broadening international and corporate partnerships, investing in capital expansion and adopting an innovative academic direction to increase experiential, cross-disciplinary and flexible learning opportunities.

Mr. Agnew was Secretary to the Cabinet and head of the public service in the Government of Ontario, Canada from 1992 to 1995 after serving as Principal Secretary to the Premier. In 1995, he led the Public-Private Partnerships Project and was seconded to Massey College at the University of Toronto where he was a Senior Resident.

He was the President and CEO of UNICEF Canada, the first head of the organization recruited from outside the international development sector. As Principal for the consulting firm Digital 4Sight, he led the firm’s global research initiative on the impact of technology on government and democracy. In the co-operative sector, he was the Executive Vice-President and Corporate Secretary for the Credit Union Central of Ontario. Mr. Agnew was the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments, the national dispute resolution service for consumers and small businesses.

Mr. Agnew’s working life started in high school as a newspaper reporter in Toronto and he continued his journalism career in St. John’s, Ottawa and Edmonton. He was the gold medallist when he graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland with a B.A. in political science. Following his studies, he was a Parliamentary Intern at the House of Commons of Canada.

Mr. Agnew is Chair of the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) and Vice-Chair of Polytechnics Canada. He is past chair of Colleges Ontario and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and former vice-chair of Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO). He also serves on numerous other boards and committees, including the Canadian Ditchley Foundation Advisory Board and Sichuan University’s International Advisory Board. He has also served as a director or member of Colleges and Institutes Canada, the Canadian government’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council, the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council, ventureLAB, former director of the Empire Club of Canada, the Council on Foreign Relations Higher Education Working Group and has served on the campaign cabinets of the United Way in Toronto and Peel.

In 2012, Mr. Agnew received a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his service to the community.