Alan Shepard (academic)
Alan Shepard | |
---|---|
11th President of the University of Western Ontario | |
Assumed office 1 July 2019 | |
Chancellor | Linda Hasenfratz |
Preceded by | Amit Chakma |
4th President of the Concordia University | |
In office 1 August 2012 – 30 June 2019 | |
Chancellor | L. Jacques Ménard Jonathan Wener |
Preceded by | Judith Woodsworth Frederick Lowy (interim) |
Succeeded by | Graham Carr |
Personal details | |
Born | c.1962 (age 61–62) Iowa, United States |
Citizenship | Canadian, American |
Domestic partner | Stephen Powell |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | St. Olaf College (BA) University of Virginia (PhD) |
Occupation | University academic and administrator |
Academic background | |
Thesis | Marlowe's anatomy of desire (1990) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | English literature |
Sub-discipline | Early Modern English literature |
Institutions | |
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]
Personal life
Shepard has two children with his husband Stephen Powell, an associate professor at Concordia University.[13]
On 31 December 2021 Shepard took a leave of absence from the Presidency of Western after an unexpected heart attack.[14] After consultation with the Board of Governors, President Shepard entrusted his authority to Dr. Sarah Prichard, the university's provost and vice-president academic, for a period of at least 30 days.[15][16]
References
- ^ "Queer Concordia hosts Dr. Alan Shepard". The Concordian. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Alan C. Shepard '83: Alumni Achievement Award Recipient". St. Olaf College.
- ^ 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) - ^ a b "Western names Alan Shepard as new president". CBC News. 29 November 2018.
- ^ "Alan Shepard named Concordia president and vice-chancellor". Concordia University. 4 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Concordia President Alan Shepard leaving Concordia for Western". The Concordian. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Concordia President Alan Shepard leaving for top job at Western". CBC News. 29 November 2018.
- ^ "Concordia University president to leave in 2019 | CTV News Montreal". montreal.ctvnews.ca. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ Tayler, Emily. "Chakma honoured for global efforts at farewell luncheon". The Gazette. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- ^ "Western News - President Alan Shepard appointed to second term". Western News. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ 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) - ^ "Stephen Powell". Retrieved 9 July 2019.
- ^ "Western University head taking sudden leave after heart concern". CTV News. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ^ "Western University head taking sudden leave after heart concern". CTV News. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- ^ "Western University president Alan Shepard takes health leave". lfpress. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
External links
- Biography at Western University
- Biography at Concordia University Archived 18 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine
- Living people
- Canadian people of American descent
- St. Olaf College alumni
- University of Virginia alumni
- Texas Christian University faculty
- Academic staff of the University of Toronto
- Academic staff of the University of Guelph
- Academic staff of Concordia University
- Academic staff of Toronto Metropolitan University
- Presidents of the University of Western Ontario
- 21st-century Canadian LGBT people
- Canadian LGBT academics