Charles E. Pascal

Charles E. Pascal has a strong background in education, training, policy development and leadership. He has published extensively in the fields of education and psychology. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a PhD in psychology in 1969, and joined the psychology faculty of McGill University in Montreal. While at McGill, Pascal was a founder of the Centre for Learning and Development. He also founded the McGill Community Family Centre, a full-service child-care centre that was the first of its kind in Canadian universities. He has served on numerous community advisory boards and committees dealing with the education of disadvantaged and special-needs children. In addition, he headed a team at Montreal Children's Hospital that provided training to help parents support children with disabilities.

Pascal moved to Toronto in 1977 to accept a joint position with the University of Toronto, the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) and the Council of Ontario Universities Program for Instructional Development. At OISE, he first served as chair of the higher education group. In 1981, he became the executive head of graduate studies. During this time, he was a member of the governing council of the University of Toronto. Pascal also served on Dr. Bette Stephenson's steering committee for the Secondary Education Review Project.

In 1982, Pascal became the second president of Sir Sandford Fleming College of Applied Arts and Technology. During the next six years, he was a member of the board of Trent University. He was also a member of the Committee for the National Forum on Post-Secondary Education. In addition, he became the first non-private-sector chair of the Greater Peterborough Economic Council.

In 1987, Premier David Peterson appointed Pascal as chair of the Ontario Council of Regents, the government's chief policy and planning body for the colleges of applied arts and technology. Pascal also provided leadership for the Vision 2000 process to develop a renewed mandate for the province's college system.

Pascal was appointed Deputy Minister of the Premier's Council on Health, Well-being and Social Justice in January 1991.

In August 1991, he was appointed Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Community and Social Services. In 1993, he was appointed Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education and Training. 

He is chair of the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO). In January 1996, Pascal was appointed the first full-time executive director of the Atkinson Charitable Foundation that promotes social and economic justice in the tradition of its founder, Joseph E. Atkinson.

Pascal has received honorary diplomas from Niagara College and Humber College. He is also a professor at the University of Toronto where he teaches leadership and policy. He has been the assistant baseball coach at the university, is a Senior Fellow at the university's Massey College, and a Fellow at the Ontario Teachers' Federation. He has had extensive experience in the developing world, including China and South Africa, providing capacity building expertise in policy making and organizational change.