Education

University of Victoria's next president will be Kevin Hall

A new SFU president, Joy Johnson, will also soon begin her five-year term; another B.C. research university continues its search for a president

by Charlie Smith on August 16th, 2020 at 11:32 AM
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      Two of B.C.'s six research universities will have new presidents assume office later this year.

      Earlier this year, SFU announced that its vice president of research and international, Joy Johnson, will succeed Andrew Petter at Simon Fraser University.

      And on August 13, the University of Victoria announced that a postsecondary administrator in Australia, Kevin Hall, will take over from Jamie Cassels.

      Hall, vice president and senior deputy vice chancellor of global engagement and partnerships at the University of Newcastle, will begin his five-year term on November 1.

      UVic released this video to announce the appointment of UVic's next president, Kevin Hall.

      UVic released a video below to let people know about Hall's appointment. (See above)

      He will be UVic's eight president.

      UNBC operates with interim president

      Meanwhile, another B.C. research university continues its search for a new president.

      Earlier this year, Daniel Weeks chose to end his term earlier than expected at the University of Northern British Columbia. This came as he faced a possible nonconfidence vote in the university senate following a bitter strike.

      HIs position is being filled on an interim basis by Geoffrey Payne.

      Last month, UNBC's board elected Aaron Ekman, a former B.C. Federation of Labour secretary-treasurer, as chair of its board of governors. 

      The largest of B.C.'s research universities, UBC, recently reappointed Santa Ono as president for another five years.

      Ono chairs the Research Universities' Council of B.C., which advocates on behalf of its six members. They are UBC, SFU, UVic, UNBC, Royal Roads University, and Thompson Rivers University.

      Philip Steenkamp, a former senior administrator at SFU and UBC, began his five-year term as RRU president on January 1, 2019. Brett Fairburn became president of TRU in December 2018.

      Steenkamp and Fairburn were both historians before moving into administrative positions. Ono was a molecular biologist. Johnson was a researcher in gender and health science. And Hall was a civil engineer who focused on water-quality issues, including pathogen-detection systems, as well as water and health in marginalized communities.

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