Chris McGrath brings a strong foundation to the scholarship of practice to his more than 20 years of student affairs leadership. With a deep commitment to widening access and inclusion to post-secondary education for a diversity of learners, Chris interrogates higher education quality through a post-structural lens – informed by critical theory and social justice leadership.
He is keenly interested in leadership as social performance and in how leaders enact power within organizations to challenge dominant discourses of quality in higher education. Further, Chris is interested in how the intersection of personal and professional moral and ethical frameworks inform how leaders think, act and make decisions that impact the success and well-being of learners and communities.
Experience
With more than 20 years of leadership experience in Canadian student affairs, Chris McGrath has a deep commitment to access, anti-oppression and equity to his work. Currently the Vice-President, Student Success at George Brown College in Toronto, Chris has worked in senior roles in public and private post-secondary institutions in Canada and the US – with a range of experience across student affairs, strategic enrolment management, academic quality, and registrarial services.
A former President of the CACUSS, Chris sits on advisory groups for MyCreds and Colleges & Institutes Canada, and also served on committees with Colleges Ontario, the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities, and the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health.
Education
2021
Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership (Higher Education)
Western University
2017
Certificate in Human Rights Theory and Practice
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
2016
Certificate in Adjudication for Administrative Tribunals
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
1999
Master of Education, Higher Education & Student Affairs Administration
University of Vermont
1996
Bachelor of Arts (Hons), French Studies
University of Waterloo
Publications
McGrath, C. F. (2021). Frame-bending quality: Leading through discourses towards equity and student success. The Organizational Improvement Plan at Western University, 217. Retrieved from https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/oip/217
Childs, R.; Broad, K.; Gallagher-McKay, K.; Sher, Y.; Escayg, K. + McGrath, C. (2011) Pursuing equity in and through teacher education program admissions. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 19 (24), 1-22.
McGrath, C. (2010). Services for Diverse Students. In C. Strange. + D. Hardy-Cox (Eds.), Achieving Student Success: Student Services in Higher Education. McGill-Queens University Press.
McGrath, C. (2001). Under-developed and over-involved: Unpacking the hidden realities of student leadership development. The Vermont Connection, 22, 46-60.
McGrath, C. (2000). Tickled pink: Giving voice to queer allies on campus. Communiqué. Canadian Association of College and University Student Services.
McGrath, C. (1998). Student Affairs, eh? The Americanization of the Canadian student affairs profession. The Vermont Connection, 19, 48-55.