Provost and Vice-President, Academic

Lakehead University respectfully acknowledges its campuses are located on the traditional lands of Indigenous Peoples. Lakehead Thunder Bay is located on the traditional lands of the Fort William First Nation, Signatory to the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850. Lakehead Orillia is located on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg. The Anishinaabeg include the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Pottawatomi nations, collectively known as the Three Fires Confederacy. Lakehead University acknowledges the history that many nations hold in the areas around our campuses, and is committed to a relationship with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples based on the principles of mutual trust, respect, reciprocity, and collaboration in the spirit of reconciliation.

Lakehead University invites applications, nominations, and expressions of interest for the position of Provost and Vice-President, Academic with the appointment to be effective summer 2025. This is an opportunity to join the University’s eighth President and Vice-Chancellor and her team in leading, inspiring, and articulating a vision that charts an exciting future, to build upon Lakehead University’s history of excellence.

Lakehead is a comprehensive University with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. In recent years, Lakehead University has been included in the top 100 of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. Maclean’s has once again included Lakehead University among Canada’s top 10 primarily undergraduate universities in the magazine’s 2023 University Rankings, and Lakehead has been ranked at the top by Re$earchInfo, Canada’s leading agency for ranking research and innovation at PSE institutions in Canada, over the past ten years.

Lakehead has just under 10,000 full-time equivalent students and more than 2,000 faculty and staff. With an emphasis on collaborative learning and independent critical thinking and a multidisciplinary teaching approach, Lakehead offers a variety of degree and diploma programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels through its nine Faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Health and Behavioural Sciences, Natural Resources Management, Science and Environmental Studies, Social Sciences and Humanities, Graduate Studies, and Law.

The Provost and Vice-President, Academic, Lakehead University, is a dual role executive position comprising the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Academic Officer. Reporting to the President, the Provost and Vice-President, Academic works closely with the President to ensure the University delivers on its identified mission and priorities. The Provost leads and ensures effective internal institutional planning, decision management and assessment processes are in place and functioning well. The Vice-President, Academic leads academic decision-making processes and promotes institution-wide collegiality and co-operation through leadership and effective management in both governance and operational responsibilities. The Provost and Vice-President, Academic acts on behalf of the President as required and as executive Vice-President for the Executive Team. The Provost also takes the lead on implementing strategic priorities – such as international recruitment and institutional internationalization – and leads and manages external relationships and partnerships with other universities, colleges, and institutes. In addition, the Provost ensures that all academic units contribute to the success of Lakehead students and the University, that student services meet student needs, and that academic programs remain relevant and offer high-quality instruction.

The successful candidate will be an accomplished scholar in both research and teaching, and an exemplary leader with a strong commitment to collegial governance, fiscal responsibility, and meeting the diverse needs of faculty, staff, and students. An experienced senior academic administrator and future-oriented innovative thinker with a demonstrated ability to advance and transform academic programmes, goals, and priorities, the Provost will possess an open and collegial style, outstanding management, communication, and interpersonal skills, and a creative approach to problem solving. With a proven track record of promoting excellence, championing Indigenization, equity and inclusion, and supporting meaningful community engagement, the Provost will have the capacity to build morale and sustain positive working relationships with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders.

Lakehead University is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals including women, racialized persons, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities and other equity-seeking groups. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority. This is in accordance with Canadian immigration requirements.

The consultants will begin review of candidates immediately, with committee consideration later in the fall and will continue until the role is filled. Applications should include a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and the names of three references (who will not be contacted without the consent of the candidate), and should be submitted in confidence to the University’s executive search consultants:

Laverne Smith & Associates Inc.
[email protected]

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