David W. Atkinson
David W. Atkinson | |
|---|---|
| President of Carleton University | |
| In office 2005–2006 | |
| President of MacEwan University | |
| In office 2011–2017 | |
| Preceded by | Dr. Paul J. Byrne |
| Succeeded by | Dr. Deborah Saucier |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David William Atkinson 1948 (age 76–77) Sunderland, England |
| Alma mater | Indiana University, University of Calgary |
David William Atkinson (born 1948) is a Canadian academic and former president of MacEwan University. He is the former president of Kwantlen Polytechnic University and two Ontario universities, Brock University in St. Catharines and Carleton University in Ottawa.
Atkinson was born in Sunderland, England, and immigrated to Canada when very young. Educated in Calgary, he attended Indiana University, where he was an All-American in cross country, and a member of the Big Ten Championship cross country team. He returned to the University of Calgary, where he completed his B.A. degree (1970), and subsequently earned an M.A. (1971), and a Ph.D. degree (1975) in English.
Atkinson was a faculty member at the University of Lethbridge from 1977 to 1991, where he took on increasingly senior administrative positions, including director of applied studies, chair of religious studies, associate dean of arts and science, and dean of student affairs. In 1991, he was appointed Dean of Arts and Science at the University of Saskatchewan.
Atkinson is a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International. He has also received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal and Diamond Jubilee Medal. Atkinson has held faculty positions in both English and religious studies. He has published widely in both disciplines.