Media Release from St. Thomas More College
[Saskatoon] – The Board of Governors for St. Thomas More College (STM) announced May 10 that Dr. Carl N. Still, PhD, has been appointed as the 12th President of STM for a five-year term, effective May 1, 2019.
Well-known and respected at STM and at the University of Saskatchewan, Still joined the philosophy department at STM in 1995 and later served as department head, followed by the role of dean of STM from 2006-2016. Still received his bachelors (honours) from the University of South Carolina, his licentiate from the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto), and his master’s and PhD from the University of Toronto. He teaches and researches in the history of western philosophy, with a focus on the Catholic Intellectual tradition. Dr. Still has published four books, as well as numerous scholarly articles and book chapters.
Executive search firm, Caldwell Partners, was retained to assist the committee in the confidential search process. The Search committee was composed of a representative of the St. Thomas More College Society and six elected members chosen from a range of key constituents. Following an intensive, international search process that attracted candidates from across Canada and other countries, Dr. Still was recommended to the Board of Governors by the Search committee of the St. Thomas More College Corporation.
“The Board of Governors thanks Dr. Still for serving as interim president during the past ten months and is very pleased that he will continue to serve the College in this important role,” says STM Board Chair Marie Stack. A formal installation date is yet to be confirmed.
“It is both humbling and uplifting to be asked to serve as president of St. Thomas More College, where I have served for the past 24 years,” said Dr. Still.
“I look forward eagerly to working with all the members of this extraordinary academic community as we enter the planning phase for the next five years of our history. We are poised to build on the superb legacy left to us by the Basilian Fathers and the transformative accomplishments of the past seven years under the leadership of Terrence Downey.”
Bishop Mark Hagemoen of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon confirmed his support for the selection of Dr. Still to lead Saskatoon’s Catholic college.
“As a member of the St. Thomas More College Society, it is with great excitement that we welcome Dr. Carl Still as the new President of St. Thomas More College. Dr. Still is not only a very competent academic but has shown strong academic leadership over his years at the College, and most recently as the interim president. He is also a man of great character, faith and vision. He will contribute greatly to leading STM in continuing to build a strong relationship with the University of Saskatchewan. I am grateful that Dr. Still has said ‘yes’ to his appointment to STM College,” he said
“As a Catholic, federated college, STM sits in a unique place and has distinctive challenges and opportunities,” Dr. Still said. “In taking up those challenges and opportunities over the next five years, we will articulate anew what it means to be a Catholic college in open dialogue with a public university and contemporary Canadian society. We will deepen our engagement with Indigenous partners as we strive to become a community embodying reconciliation; vigorously pursue new understandings in the humanities and social sciences applied to the defining issues of our time; and introduce a new generation of students to a way of learning and living that will prepare them to rise to the challenges they will face in their professional and personal lives.”
St. Thomas More College is Saskatoon’s Catholic liberal arts college, federated and academically integrated with the University of Saskatchewan. Approximately 5,000 students are registered in over 250 STM Arts & Science course offerings in 18 subject areas, as part of their USask degrees. The College welcomes students from all backgrounds and values diversity. STM students are challenged to grow intellectually and personally, thinking creatively and critically as they prepare to take their place in the world.
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