Dr. Alan Shepard has been selected as the new president and vice-chancellor of Western University.
Shepard, who is currently the president and vice-chancellor of Concordia University Montreal, Québec, will replace Dr. Amit Chakma as the 11th person to fill the position effective July 21, 2019.
"In Dr. Shepard, we found someone who is a clear, innovative, forward-looking thinker; someone that is up to not only meeting challenges but moving Western forward," said Paul Jenkins, chair of Western's board of governors. "Dr. Shepard's passion for universities came through very, very strongly to the selection committee. [It's] a passion that sees the importance of universities as a way of movie society forward for the betterment of everyone."
Dr. Alan Shepard is announced as Western University's newest president on November 29, 2018. (Photo by Miranda Chant, BlackburnNews.com)
Jenkins said the search to replace Chakma began in January with a broad consultation process with Western officials, the university's alumni, people within the London community, as well as those outside of the city.
"You don't get opportunities to lead an institution like Western very often and when the search consultant called me and said 'would you be interested,' I was definitely interested," said Shepard.
Shepard immigrated to Canada 20 years ago from the United States and he remains a dual citizen. He has been in Quebec for the last seven years, and before becoming president at Concordia, Shepard was provost and vice-president at Ryerson University.
"I loved universities since I was a first-year student myself and I'm very much looking forward to working with the Western community as it continues to grow and thrive," said Shepard.
The newly appointed university president said it is currently premature to reveal his plans for Western, as that is something he plans to develop with the local community.
"I'm not going to come with my plan in my back pocket. I think that's not fair to the Western community. I really want to talk to people and what's going on and what you want to do, and what we can do together," he said, "I would say that the focus on international engagement and the profile of Western as one of the top universities in the world is an important piece of what has happened here over the last several years. And it's a direction I intend to sustain."
-With files from Miranda Chant