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Alan Shepard (born c. 1962)[1] is a Canadian academic and the current and 11th president and vice-chancellor of Western University in London, Ontario, effective July 2019. He previously served as the president and vice-chancellor of Concordia University in Montreal.

Early life and education

Shepard was born in Iowa, and is a dual citizen of both Canada and the United States.[2] He has a background in Early Modern English literature. He received an BA in English literature from St. Olaf College in 1983[3] and received a PhD in English from the University of Virginia in 1990.[2][4]

Career

Shepard served as the chair of the English department at Texas Christian University from 1998 to 2002.[2] He moved to Canada in 2002, where he began working as a visiting research fellow at the University of Toronto.[2]

Shepard was hired as an associate vice-president academic at University of Guelph in 2005.[2] In 2007, Shepard became the provost and vice-president academic at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University), where he worked until 2012.[2] At Ryerson, Shepard led the development of a business incubator called the Digital Media Zone.[5]

In August 2012, Shepard became the president and vice-chancellor of Concordia University in Montreal.[6][7] His two predecessors, Judith Woodsworth and Claude Lajeunesse, were both removed midway through their terms due to scandals.[8][9]

In November 2018, Shepard announced he would be leaving Concordia on 30 June 2019 to become the president and vice-chancellor of Western University in London, Ontario.[7][8] In July 2019, Shepard replaced Amit Chakma to become the 11th president of Western.[5][10] In December 2022 he was reappointed to a second term as President.[11]

Shepard has served on the board of directors at Universities Canada, Stratford Festival, and the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.[12] He is currently chair of the Canadian Research Knowledge Network.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Queer Concordia hosts Dr. Alan Shepard". The Concordian. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Alan Shepard named as Western University's next president - London | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Alan C. Shepard '83: Alumni Achievement Award Recipient". St. Olaf College.
  4. ^ a b University, Department of Communications and Public Affairs, Western. "Introducing Western's 11th President & Vice-Chancellor". president.uwo.ca. Retrieved 13 April 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b "Western names Alan Shepard as new president". CBC News. 29 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Alan Shepard named Concordia president and vice-chancellor". Concordia University. 4 May 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Concordia President Alan Shepard leaving Concordia for Western". The Concordian. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Concordia President Alan Shepard leaving for top job at Western". CBC News. 29 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Concordia University president to leave in 2019 | CTV News Montreal". montreal.ctvnews.ca. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  10. ^ Tayler, Emily. "Chakma honoured for global efforts at farewell luncheon". The Gazette. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Western News - President Alan Shepard appointed to second term". Western News. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  12. ^ University, Department of Communications and Public Affairs, Western (29 November 2018). "Western names Dr. Alan Shepard as 11th President and Vice-Chancellor". Media Relations. Retrieved 13 April 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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