Biography of Peter Philip Mercer, L.L.B., Ph.D.

Dr. Peter Philip Mercer became Ramapo College's fourth president on July 1, 2005. He previously served both as dean of the law school and vice president (administration) and general counsel at the University of Western Ontario, where he was a professor of law. He also has served as acting vice president for external affairs at Western Ontario and acting director of development.

A former visiting research scholar at the University of Michigan, he has also been a faculty member at the University of Calgary, the University of Detroit and the University of Windsor. This past year, Rotary International appointed Dr. Mercer a Paul Harris Fellow. He has received Teacher of the Year awards at the University of Calgary and the University of Western Ontario and a Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Association of University Business Officers.

He is the editor of Products Liability in Canada (Oceana, 1988) and co-author of An Introduction to Business Associations in Canada (Carswell, 1984). In addition, he has authored numerous articles, book chapters and reviews. His recent publications have focused on the legal profession and professional ethics.

Dr. Mercer has conducted research studies commissioned and published by the Canadian and Ontario governments. Among the agencies were the Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario, the Law Reform Commission of Canada and The Ontario Motor Vehicle Arbitration Plan. He was the principal investigator heading an interdisciplinary team on a multi-year Legal Ethics Theoretical and Empirical Study funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, an L.L.M. at the University of Cambridge and an L.L.B. at the University of Western Ontario, where he was awarded honors in English and Philosophy. Recently, he was on a partial study leave serving as principal consultant to the Ontario Ministry of Finance on integrated supply chain management in the Ontario public sector. For eight years, he also has served as principal instructor in the Senior University Administrators Course held at the Banff Center, Banff, Alberta.

His service to the community includes serving as a board member of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, a member of the board of directors of Victoria Hospital and of the London Health Sciences Center, and as a member of the board of directors of the Western Ontario Conservatory of Music. He also has held a number of leadership positions with the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario Foundation including two terms as chair. Dr. Mercer is married to Jacqueline Ehlert-Mercer. He has a son Ryan, a senior at the University of Toronto and a daughter, Imogen, who is planning on entering McGill University in the fall.