Susan Tighe | President and Vice-Chancellor

McMaster University  • PhD, PEng, FCAE, FCSCE, FEIC, C.Dir. 

Dr. Susan Tighe is McMaster University’s ninth President and Vice-Chancellor. She was appointed on July 1, 2025. She is a professor of civil engineering and has been a professional engineer since 1995.

Dr. Tighe is internationally renowned for her outstanding contributions to the development, design, and management of sustainable concrete and asphalt transportation infrastructure. She has established a unique “cradle-to-grave” research program spanning fundamental materials science and experimental performance evaluation, through to implementation of her innovative materials and designs on roads and airfields in Canada and abroad. Dr. Tighe is the first professor of engineering to serve as President and Vice-Chancellor of McMaster University.

With deep experience in both the public and private sectors, Dr. Tighe has been a leader in strengthening partnerships with government and industry and has been a strong champion of initiatives to support transformative research, high quality teaching, and outstanding student experience. This has also involved advancing innovation, commercialization, and entrepreneurship including the launch of the professor entrepreneur fellowship. She has taken a leading role in advancing inclusion and collaboration across diverse communities at McMaster. She has been a champion in supporting digital learning strategies and the responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance teaching practice, prepare students for the future of work, and enhance university operations.

Dr. Tighe’s extensive leadership experience includes serving as McMaster’s Provost and Vice-President (Academic), as Deputy Provost and Associate Vice-President, Integrated Planning and Budgeting, at the University of Waterloo, and as past President of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering among other leadership roles. She is a past chair of the U15 Canada Academic Affairs Committee and served as an executive member of the Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents.

Prior to becoming an academic, Dr. Tighe spent nearly four years at the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) and on construction sites supervising MTO inspectors and contractors. She also played a key role in the construction of Ontario’s Highway 407. From 2000 to 2020, she was a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Waterloo where she held a Canada Research Chair and the Norman W. McLeod Endowed Chair in Sustainable Pavement Engineering.

Dr. Tighe was elected a member of the inaugural class of the Royal Society of Canada’s College for New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists, and is a recipient of the Professional Engineers of Ontario Engineering Medal in Research and Development and the Young Engineer Medal, among many other professional honours. She was also named one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40 and was recognized as being amongst the University of Waterloo’s top 10 influential alumni. She is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering; Fellow of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering; and Fellow Engineering Institute of Canada.

Dr. Tighe received her BSc in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University, and her MASc Civil Engineering and PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Waterloo. She has also earned the Chartered Director designation from the DeGroote School of Business Director’s College Program at McMaster.

A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Tighe has supervised more than 100 MASc, PhD, and post-doctoral students and continues to supervise graduate students at McMaster.