In July 2015, Colleen M. Hanycz, Ph.D., became La Salle University’s 29th President—the first layperson to serve as President in La Salle’s 152-year history. Throughout her accomplished career as an attorney, professor, and administrator, Dr. Hanycz has been an active proponent of Catholic education as a means to advance the common good and to celebrate the dignity of each person.

In her three years at La Salle, Dr. Hanycz has led a number of significant strategic initiatives to position the University for growth and continued success, and to improve the educational experience for its students.

These initiatives include a strategic program prioritization that evaluated each of La Salle’s 300 plus academic and operational programs to promote alignment between the University’s programs, resources, and mission, and to create a culture of continuous improvement; a refreshed brand—Explorers are Never Lost—to better tell La Salle’s magnificent story; a tuition reset program that reshaped the paradigm on college affordability; a new core curriculum and 12 robust institutional learning outcomes to ensure La Salle graduates are prepared for personal and professional success; and a five-year strategic plan, Momentum 2022, that will build upon these achievements, propelling La Salle forward to claim its place as a national leader in exceptional student outcomes.

Under her leadership, the University enrolled its largest group of incoming students in 25 years—the most talented academically, and the most diverse by every measure—a remarkable achievement given persistent national trends of declining enrollment.

Dr. Hanycz previously served in a Presidential role at Brescia University College in London, Ontario, Canada. During her seven-year tenure at Brescia, a Catholic women’s college, she implemented a bold strategic plan that raised the college’s national profile, increased enrollment significantly, improved retention rates for talented students, faculty, and staff, doubled on-campus residence space, and developed innovative academic programs. At Brescia, Dr. Hanycz also launched a rebranding initiative to capitalize on Brescia’s identity as Canada’s only women’s college and to place an emphasis on women’s leadership. As part of the Brescia Bold—Choose to Lead initiative, Brescia developed an academic program on leadership, instituted a public speaking contest for female high school seniors across Canada, and expanded its Girls LEAD leadership development camps to international locations in the Caribbean and Hong Kong.

A native of Toronto, Dr. Hanycz graduated from Senator O’Connor College High School, which was then led by the Brothers of the Christian Schools. She has said that the Lasallian charism has had a deep influence on the values she applies to her life and her work, visible in her commitment to a transformational academic experience, authentic community, and service to the most vulnerable in society.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in history from St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto, Dr. Hanycz completed her J.D. at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She practiced securities and employment litigation for several years in Toronto and then returned to graduate studies, completing her LL.M. and Ph.D. in law at Osgoode Hall Law School.