The University of British Columbia Board of Governors has approved the appointment of Professor Deborah Buszard to lead UBC’s Okanagan campus as Deputy Vice Chancellor and Principal. She will begin her five-year term on July 1, 2012.
Buszard is currently Professor of Environmental Science at Dalhousie University, and has held a variety of academic and leadership positions at Dalhousie University and McGill University. In her new role, she will be the senior leader at UBC’s Okanagan campus and a core member of the University’s executive leadership team.
“We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Buszard to UBC,” said Prof. Stephen Toope, President and Vice Chancellor. “She is a distinguished scholar and an effective leader who will provide strong support and guidance to this extraordinary campus.”
Buszard succeeds Doug Owram, who has held the position since July 1, 2006. A historian who held senior leadership roles at the University of Alberta before coming to UBC, Owram has helped establish and grow the new campus since just after its creation. The student population at the Okanagan campus has doubled to more than 7,900 this year.
“I am thrilled with the opportunity to join UBC in this role,” said Buszard. “There is something special happening at UBC’s Okanagan campus and I feel it has exceptional potential. I look forward to the chance to serve this dynamic learning and research campus in this beautiful community.”
At Dalhousie University, Buszard served as Director of Environmental Programs and has been a driving force behind the creation of Canada’s first College of Sustainability. Prior to joining Dalhousie in 2006, she was Professor of Plant Science at McGill University and she served as Dean of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Associate Vice-Principal of the Macdonald Campus from 1996-2005.
Buszard was born in the U.K. and received her PhD from the University of London. She has published research on plant physiology, strawberry breeding and horticultural crop management. She has been an active member in her community, including serving as Chair of the Board of Vanier College and President of the Canadian Society for Horticultural Science.
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