Search Announcement: Provost and Vice-President Academic

Last week, I shared an update about what we’ve heard to date so far as part of SFU: What’s Next?, and today I want to provide more information about important work that is already underway to address your feedback and create change at the university.

One of the pieces of feedback that we heard most clearly and consistently is the need to strengthen the university’s academic enterprise, including putting the appropriate structures in place at the leadership level. To that end, I have been working with Provost and Vice-President Academic pro tem, Wade Parkhouse, to strengthen the provost model and SFU’s academic portfolio.

Currently, Wade is responsible for providing leadership and oversight of academic affairs while supporting the efforts of deans, faculty and staff to drive academic excellence across the university and ensure our core activities of research, scholarly activity, teaching and learning are of the highest standards.

We have already begun the process of enhancing the role of the provost and vice-president academic to provide strategic leadership on academic, financial, and operational matters at the university. Reporting to the president and working closely with deans, vice-presidents, and vice-provosts, the provost and vice-president academic will ensure that operational planning and budgeting is fully integrated across the university, aligns with the university’s academic and strategic mission, its institutional priorities, and is supported by the appropriate allocation of resources.

This significant enhancement of the provost’s responsibilities will ensure that financial and operational decisions at SFU are made through an academic lens.

Provost search begins

All of this work is being done with the understanding that Wade Parkhouse’s term as provost and vice-president academic pro temends on Aug. 31, 2023. Wade assumed this role in July, and I wish to offer my sincere appreciation to him for serving the university in this important capacity and for lending his expertise as we continue to enhance the provost’s portfolio and role at the university.

SFU is now commencing a process to select its next provost and vice-president academic. A search committee will be established in accordance with the procedures set out in policy GP29 – Search Committees for Vice-Presidents and Associate Vice-Presidents.

Later this week, a call for nominations for elected faculty and staff positions on the committee will be sent to the respective groups by the Senate office. 

The search process is expected to continue through to the spring of 2023. Early in this process, the committee will engage the SFU community in a robust consultation to gather input into the candidate profile.

I am confident that the work we are undertaking now will ensure that the incoming provost and vice-president academic has the support and resources they need to advance SFU’s academic mission. 

Thank you in advance for your contributions to this search, and for providing your feedback through SFU: What’s Next?–we hear you, and will continue to make this topic a priority in the months ahead.

Joy Johnson
Pronouns: she/her/hers
President and Vice-Chancellor
Simon Fraser University