Mr Halpin came to John Abbott in the spring of 2014 from Champlain College - St. Lawrence in Quebec City where he spent five years as Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs. Earlier in his career, he spent several years teaching mathematics and physics at that same College. Mr Halpin has 20 years of engineering and management experience in gas turbine design and product development (General Electric Aircraft Engines in Cincinnati, Rolls-Royce Gas Turbines in England & Canada, UTC-Pratt & Whitney in Montreal, UTC-Carrier in Hartford). Prior to his return to St. Lawrence, he held the title of Carrier Corporation’s global Engineering Director, responsible for technology and engineering processes. Mr. Halpin has a B.A.Sc. (University of Toronto) and a M.Sc. (Université Laval) in Mechanical Engineering.

During his time at John Abbott, John has been co-chair of CICan’s Advisory Committee on Student Mental Health, which helped to launch the new National Standard of Canada for Mental Health and Well-Being for Post-Secondary Students, released by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) in 2021. In addition to being on multiple provincial committees on education, he is president or vice-president of the Board for three applied research centers (artificial intelligence, pharmaceutical research & optics).