DANIEL, John

Sir John Daniel
President & Chief Executive Officer

Commonwealth of Learning
1055 West Hastings Street, Suite 1200
Vancouver, BC  V6E 2E9
CANADA

Tel: +1 604 775 8200    
Fax: +1 604 775 8210     
E-mail: jdaniel

 
Sir John became President of COL in 2004 after gaining wide international experience in universities and the United Nations system.

He obtained his full-time university education in Metallurgy at Oxford and Paris and later demonstrated his commitment to lifelong learning by taking 25 years to complete a part-time Master's degree in Educational Technology at Concordia University. However, the internship for that programme, which took him to the UK Open University in 1972, was a life-changing experience. He saw the future of higher education and wanted to be part of it.

This quest took him on an international odyssey with appointments at the Télé-université (Directeur des Études, 1973-77), Athabasca University (Vice-President for Learning Services, 1978-80), Concordia University (Vice-Rector, Academic, 1980-84), Laurentian University (President, 1984-90), the UK Open University (Vice-Chancellor, 1990-2001) and UNESCO (Assistant Director-General for Education, 2001-04).

His non-executive appointments have included the presidencies of the International Council for Open and Distance Education, the Canadian Association for Distance Education and the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education. He also served as Vice-President of the International Baccalaureate Organisation.

The best known of Sir John's 250 publications is his book Mega-Universities and Knowledge Media: Technology Strategies for Higher Education (Kogan Page, 1996).

He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for services to higher education in 1994 and holds 30 honorary doctorates, fellowships and professorships from universities and professional bodies in 16 countries.

A citizen of Canada and the UK, his hobbies are walking and boating. His name is recorded in the annals of Westminster Abbey as the first person to preach there using a laptop computer.

January 2007