Vice-President, Academic and Provost

The University of Waterloo invites applications, nominations, and expressions of interest for the position of Vice-President, Academic and Provost, with the appointment to be effective July 1, 2027.

Grounded in Waterloo’s institutional values—thinking differently, acting with purpose, and working together—the University seeks a Provost who will model these commitments in advancing academic excellence, innovation, student experience and community impact with a commitment to academic freedom, freedom of inquiry and freedom of expression.

The University of Waterloo is a leading global research-intensive institution that contributes to local and global prosperity. It is home to a renowned talent pipeline, game-changing research and technology, and an unmatched entrepreneurial culture. Together with the world’s largest co-operative education program in a research-intensive university, these differentiating strengths allow its students and faculty to create solutions that tackle today’s challenges and transform the future. The University’s north campus has been selected to be the site for the new regional hospital, opening up exciting opportunities for education and research partnerships in health. The University has built an extensive network of healthcare and industry collaboration, generated nearly 20 percent of tech founders in Canada, and delivers a dynamic learning experience for more than 42,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Waterloo is at the forefront of innovation and is home to transformational research and inspired learning. Located in the heart of Canada's technology hub, the University is growing a network of global partnerships that will shape the future by working beyond disciplines and building bridges with industry, institutions, and communities. Waterloo at 100 outlines the University’s strategic visioning.

The best and brightest are drawn to the University of Waterloo for the opportunity to collaborate with, and be elevated by, a world-class peer group with enviable rankings. Waterloo is cited as “one of the world’s top technology schools” and has been ranked by peers as Canada’s most innovative university for 30 of the last 33 years. Waterloo’s faculty in the arts, social sciences and humanities explore the human condition, frame the experience of a rapidly changing world, and to help make sense of it while faculty in areas such as environment and health address the world’s biggest challenges. Strategic integration of teaching and academic excellence, experiential education, entrepreneurial spirit, and impact-driven and foundational research make the University of Waterloo one of the most relevant, connected, and innovative institutions in the world.

Reporting to the President and Vice-Chancellor, the Vice-President, Academic and Provost is a senior faculty member of academic stature with a proven record of leadership and administrative experience who serves as the Chief Academic Officer and Chief Budget Officer of the University of Waterloo. The Provost provides strategic leadership and oversight for all academic activities, including Faculties, Libraries, student supports and ancillary service units. This role is central to advancing the University’s academic mission in a dynamic, complex, and globally competitive environment. The Provost is responsible for academic planning and policy, teaching and learning excellence, faculty recruitment and development, graduate studies and postdoctoral affairs, strategic enrolment management, integrated planning and budgeting; co-operative and experiential education, and campus support and accessibility, including staff and faculty satisfaction and the overall quality of the student experience.

As a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, and Vice-Chair of Senate, the Vice-President, Academic and Provost contributes to institutional strategy, resource planning, collective bargaining, and vision-setting, while championing priorities in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, anti-Racism, Accessibility, and Truth and Reconciliation.