Order of Canada recipient Sheldon Levy has been appointed Interim President and Vice-Chancellor of University Canada West (UCW).

Sheldon Levy was recently the advisor to Canada’s Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion, Mary Ng, on the issue of scaling up small and medium-sized businesses. He also serves as a strategic consultant and special advisor to Knightstone Capital Management Inc.

“We are thrilled that Sheldon Levy will be joining the leadership team at University Canada West,” said Cyndi McLeod, Chair of the UCW Board of Governors and CEO of Global University Systems Canada, UCW’s parent company. “He brings a wealth of experience and an impressive track record of leadership to UCW.”

Mr. Levy served as President and Vice-Chancellor of Ryerson University from 2005 to 2015. During that time, he drove the creation of the Digital Media Zone (DMZ), an early-stage incubator for student entrepreneurs, which has since become an international success.

Mr. Levy is also a founder and advisor to Ryerson Futures Inc., an accelerator that has exported the DMZ concept to such locations as Calgary and Mumbai.

From 2015 to 2017, he served as Ontario’s Deputy Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development, where he helped prioritize innovation and entrepreneurship throughout Ontario’s post-secondary education and training system.

In 2017, Mr. Levy became CEO of NEXT Canada, an organization that provides mentorship, education and funding to Canada’s most promising entrepreneurs.

Mr. Levy has extensive experience in senior leadership positions at post-secondary institutions. In addition to Ryerson University, he served as President of Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology; Vice-President, Finance and Strategy, at University of Ontario Institute of Technology; Vice-President, Government and Institutional Relations, at the University of Toronto; and Vice-President, Institutional Affairs, at York University.