Susan L. Tighe, President and Vice-Chancellor, McMaster UniversitySUPPLIED
McMaster University is pleased to announce the appointment of Susan L. Tighe, a celebrated civil engineer, professor and experienced academic leader, as McMaster’s ninth President and Vice-Chancellor, effective July 1, 2025.
President Tighe, who served most recently as McMaster’s Provost and Vice-President Academic, brings valuable experience in education, government and the private sector to her new role, where she plans to emphasize student success, collaboration, commercializing research and growing McMaster’s contributions to society.
Before joining the executive team at McMaster, President Tighe had served as Deputy Provost and Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Waterloo.
As Provost at McMaster, she was a valuable leader of the university’s academic enterprise and in pandemic planning and financial management, helping the university weather fiscal challenges without compromising its teaching or research missions.
A leading expert in the properties of pavement materials, her research and field work have concentrated on the developing and deploying high-performance materials for roadways and airfields.
President Tighe’s experience in engineering includes working on the construction of Ontario’s Hwy. 407 and international field service in South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
President Tighe earned her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University and her Master’s and PhD degrees in Civil Engineering at the University of Waterloo.
Founded in 1887, McMaster is ranked among the world’s top 100 universities, renowned for its research intensity, its student-centred, multidisciplinary, problem-based teaching and learning, its evidence-based approach to scholarship and research, and its campus nuclear research reactor.
