“He gives leaders the space and confidence to make the best decisions for their teams and for our students, our faculty and our staff, always while safeguarding the strength and integrity of the institution. Reflecting on David’s leadership, the theme that resonates most strongly is his unwavering steadiness.”
— Saher Fazilat, Vice-President Operations and Finance 

Students, faculty, staff and McMaster community members gathered Thursday at an open house to honour and bid farewell to outgoing President David Farrar, who has guided the university with a steady hand and visionary leadership for the past six years.  

At Thursday’s informal event, several key members of the university community offered affectionate tributes to Farrar, whose term as president concludes at the end of June.  

Every one of them spoke of Farrar’s calm, steady leadership, which was put to the test many times as the world and the university grappled with COVID-19, global conflict, combating anti-Black racism, advancing Truth and Reconciliation, and other important issues. 

Jovan Popovic, whose two years as McMaster Students Union president ended this month, spoke of his deep respect and admiration for Farrar, their shared commitment to helping McMaster students flourish — and their love for the Toronto Blue Jays.  

In fact, as they worked their way through issues and important matters, the two presidents bonded over discussion of the Jays’ current leadership, Popovic said.  

As a parting gift, he gave Farrar an Alex Anthopoulos jersey, a reminder of their shared longing for the days when Anthopoulous, a McMaster graduate, was GM of a more successful Jays team. 

Farrar always had an ear to the ground when it came to students’ struggles and worked quietly but tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure their needs were met, Popovic said.  

“I remember the one issue I brought up was food insecurity,”  said Popovic. “This had been the first time that someone had brought this issue forward, and I remember the emotion on his face.”  

A few months later, at a meeting between the MSU, university leadership and political leaders, the university listed students’ food insecurity as a top priority, and Popovic knew Farrar had been working on the issue after he brought it up.  

“It’s the way that he operated — respectfully, diligently — that got people to listen.” 

“It’s been a true privilege for me to work so closely with David,” said Provost Susan Tighe, who will succeed Farrar on July 1 as ninth president and vice-chancellor of the university. 

“We are grateful for your humility, your kindness, your calm, which has gotten us through many, many situations,” she said.

“David is not only steady, but very principled in his approach to leadership.” 

“Part of David’s leadership is to make sure he’s communicating with us. You lead us from a place where you’re open with us, and that’s an important signal to how you’ve led this institution.” 

“David is always so composed, displaying a subtle yet profoundly impactful leadership,” said Vice-President of Operations and Finance Saher Fazilat.

“We will deeply miss you, your advice, your kindness, your inspiring leadership.”  

Juliet Daniel, strategic advisor to the president for the Canada-Caribbean Institute at McMaster, thanked Farrar for his actions to foster equity and inclusion on campus, and for going above and beyond to champion equity measures to combat anti-Black racism.  

“It has been an absolute pleasure working more closely with you as we share similar values and hopes on how best to tackle the climate crisis in Canada, the Caribbean and globally.” 

Farrar’s climate advocacy and “nerdiness” — he is a chemistry scholar — also came up more than once.  

Raising a glass of lemonade, Daniel wished him the joy of “getting to be as nerdy as he wants to be while pursuing his academic research passions and advocating for small modular reactors to tackle the climate crisis globally.”