Peter Constantinou, PH.D.

Dr. Peter P. Constantinou,
President and CEO, Political Acuity Institute
Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, York University
Academic Director, Ontario Legislature Internship Programme

Peter Constantinou is one of Canada’s leading public policy practitioner academics and award winning university lecturer.  He holds a BA (Specialized Honours) in Public Policy and Administration from York University, and an MA in Public Policy and Administration from McMaster, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Toronto. His doctoral dissertation was a landmark study of government relations with stakeholders in the post-secondary education sector in Ontario.
 
Dr. Constantinou is a long-time public servant who has worked at the federal and provincial levels of government and in the college and university sector.  He was a Research Analyst with the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing; a Policy Analyst, Senior Policy Advisor and Senior International Trade Advisor with the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy; and Chief of Staff to an Ontario Minister of Education and Training. Before joining York, Peter was Director of Government Relations at Seneca College and Special Advisor to the President, responsible for the government and community engagement that led to the creation of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), now Ontario Tech University. He currently holds the post of Academic Director of the Ontario Legislature Internship Programme.
 
For over 28 years, Peter has been active in teaching and research in the area of public policy and administration.  Dr. Constantinou is currently working with the International Financial Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group to provide advice to government officials, academic leaders and faculty in universities and colleges. 
 
Dr. Constantinou’s study “Political Acuity and Council-Staff Relations” in the Canadian Journal of Local Government has been the basis for development of training programs for staff and executive teams in hundreds of municipalities throughout Canada and abroad, including working with clients in Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, Israel, Peru, United Kingdom, Vietnam, among others. To date he has worked with 480 Chinese partners at the municipal and provincial levels and delivered over 500 lectures and workshops.  He has been a visiting professor and delivered workshops in China for Zhejiang Shuren University and Suqian College.