Patrick J. Monahan
BA (Ottawa), MA (Carleton), LLB (Osgoode), LLM (Harvard), of the Bar of Ontario,

Vice-President Academic & Provost
York University

Patrick J. Monahan was appointed Vice-President Academic & Provost of York University on July 1, 2009.

Professor Monahan served as Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School from 2003 to 2009 and has been a member of Osgoode Hall Law School’s faculty since 1982.  During his tenure as Dean, Professor Monahan led the development of Osgoode’s first comprehensive strategic plan, Making a Difference, 2006-2010, which established three strategic priorities for the school:  building an engaged learning community; promoting engagement with the broader community; and situating Osgoode as a global law school. 

In furtherance of these strategic priorities, the law school successfully implemented a number of fundamental reforms during the course of Professor Monahan’s deanship, including a comprehensive reform of the first year curriculum, overhaul of the school’s admissions policies and introduction of the Osgoode Public Interest Requirement, which requires each law student to complete 40 hours of unpaid legal work in the public interest as a condition of graduation.  The School also created the first-ever dedicated student residence for law students, Osgoode Chambers, and secured $50 million in public and private support for a comprehensive renovation and expansion of the Osgoode building.

Professor Monahan is widely regarded as one of Canada’s leading constitutional experts and, in 2008, was awarded the David W. Mundell Medal for legal writing and scholarship by the Attorney General of Ontario. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books, including Constitutional Law, 3rd edition (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2006) and Liability of the Crown, 3rd edition (with Peter Hogg) (Toronto: Carswell, 2000). He was the Director of the York University Centre for Public Law and Public Policy for most of the 1990s, through to 2002.

Professor Monahan is deeply committed to teaching, pedagogy and student learning and continues to teach in the law school’s JD program.

Professor Monahan’s academic career has been combined with activities in both private practice and public law settings. Between 1986 and 1990, he was Senior Policy Advisor to the Attorney General and Premier of Ontario, respectively, during which time he played a key role in the negotiation of the 1987 Meech Lake Accord. Professor Monahan has acted as advisor to the federal government as well as a number of provincial governments respecting economic, constitutional and international trade matters.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Power Authority and, from January 2007 to July 2009, served as the Founding Chair of the Law Commission of Ontario.