R. Peter MacKinnon, (born 1947) 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 ...

lawyer and legal academic. MacKinnon served as the president of the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

from 1999 to 2012. On 1 July 2014, he was named as the interim president of

Athabasca University Athabasca University (AU) is a Canadian public research university that primarily operates through online distance education. Founded in 1970, it is one of four comprehensive academic and research universities in Alberta, and was the first ...

. On 15 January 2019, MacKinnon started serving as interim president of

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

upon the resignation of

Richard Florizone Richard Florizone (born 1967) is a Canadian academic and physicist who served as the 11th president of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Biography R. Florizone was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in 1967. He attended the Univer ...

and served until the announcement of the next president,

Deep Saini Hargurdeep Saini ( Punjabi: ਹਰਗੁਰਦੀਪ ਸੈਣੀ), also known as Deep Saini, is a scientist, current President and Vice-Chancellor of Dalhousie University and incoming Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University. Caree ...

Biography

Born in

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

, he received a BA from

, an

LL.B Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from Queen's University and a

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 ...

from the

. He is a member of the

Ontario Bar The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; french: Barreau de l'Ontario) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; f ...

and Saskatchewan Bar. He was created a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1990. He is married to Janice MacKinnon, a Canadian historian and former minister of finance for the Province of Saskatchewan. They have two children, Alan and William. In 1975, he joined the faculty of the University of Saskatchewan as an assistant professor of law. He became an associate professor in 1978 and a professor in 1983. He served as chair of the University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association from 1983–84. From 1979 to 1981, he was the assistant dean of law and was the dean of law from 1988 to 1998. In 1999, he was appointed the eighth president of the University of Saskatchewan. On March 9, MacKinnon announced that he would be stepping down as president of the University of Saskatchewan, effective June 30, 2012. He is succeeded by Ilene Busch-Vishniac, former provost and vice-president (academic) at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

. From 2003 to 2005, he was the chairman of the

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada Universities Canada (french: Universités Canada) is an organization that represents Canada's universities. It is a non-profit national organization that coordinates university policies, guidance and direction. Formed in 1911, as the Association ...

, the organization representing Canada's universities. In 2006, it was reported that he was one of three "short list" candidates to be recommended to be appointed to the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

replacing the retired justice

John C. Major John Charles "Jack" Major (born February 20, 1931) is a Canadian jurist and was a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1992 to 2005. Early life and education Born in Mattawa, Ontario, Major received a Bachelor of Commerce degree f ...

. In 2011, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

"for his contributions to education and for his commitment to innovation and research excellence". In 2012, the Board of Governors of the University of Saskatchewan renamed the College Building the Peter MacKinnon Building.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackinnon, Peter Living people Lawyers in Saskatchewan Canadian King's Counsel Canadian legal scholars Presidents of the University of Saskatchewan Canadian university and college faculty deans Officers of the Order of Canada People from Prince Edward Island Canadian people of Scottish descent University of Saskatchewan alumni Dalhousie University alumni Queen's University at Kingston alumni Presidents of Athabasca University 1947 births Canadian university and college chief executives University of Saskatchewan College of Law alumni