Vice-President (Research) Search

Update#6 - 26 June 2023

As Chair of the Search Advisory Committee for the next Vice-President (Research), I am pleased to announce that the Committee has recommended - and the Board of Governors has approved - the appointment of Dr. Chris Yost effective July 1, 2023.  Dr. Yost will continue in the role of Vice-President (Research) that he has been serving in an interim capacity since July 2022.

Dr. Yost completed a BSc in microbiology with a CO-OP distinction from the University of Victoria and received a PhD in Microbial Genetics from the University of Calgary.  Prior to coming to the University of Regina, he was a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at the Lacombe Research Centre and later worked internationally as a research associate at the University of Aarhus in Denmark.

Dr. Yost is a full professor within the Biology Department at the University of Regina and has had a long-term committment to serving the University in supporting its research enterprise.  He served as Associate Vice-President Research from September 2020 to July 2022 and has been interim Vice-President Research since July 2022.  Prior to these roles, he was the chair of the Council Committee on Academic Mission and the chair of the Council Committee on Research.  He also has national experience in research policy work, and was a member of NSERC's Committee on Discovery Research while serving as a Group Chair for NSERC's Discovery Grant program.

I wish to thank the members of the Search Advisory Committee - Whitney Blaisdell, Lori Campbell, Dr. Nicholas Carleton, Dr. Raymond Deschamps, Dr. Aziz Douai, Dr. david Gregory, Dr. Christine Ramsay, and Dr. Sandra Zilles, who were supported by Nancy Kazeil and D'arcy Schaurete - for their commitment and dedication during this important search.

Please join me in thanking Dr. Yost for his outstanding service and years of commitment to the University of Regina, and in congratulating him on this new appointment.

Update#5 - 12 June 2023

I am writing to let you know that the final candidate took another offer and withdrew from our competition for the position of Vice-President (Research).  I immediately consulted with the Search Advisory Committee, and they unanimously and enthusiastically recommended that the position be offered to Dr. Chris Yost.  I was very pleased to accept this recommendation.  Over the past year, Dr. Yost has served as Interim VPR with great distinction, and is highly regarded by the entire university leadership team.  He has worked at the University of Regina for 20 years.  A world renowned microbiologist, he has held a Canada Research Chair for 10 years, and has received numerous, major, Tri-Agency awards.

The committee would welcome feedback on this recommendation until 5 p.m. Monday, June 19th.  Please send your confidential comments to darcy.schauerte@uregina.ca

I would like to thank the committee for their excellent work and we look forward to hearing from those who would like to offer views on this recommendation.

Update #4:  May 2023

The Search Advisory Committee is pleased to announce that three candidates have been shortlisted for the position of Vice-President (Research).  A campus message with zoom information will be sent out in advance of the presentations.

The recordings and candidate CVs will be made available here once all campus visits and presentations are complete.

I wish to thank the shortlisited candidates, the members of the Search Advisory Committee, and the campus community for their commitment to the success of this search.

Jeff Keshen
President and Vice Chancellor 

Update #3:  March 2023

The search Advisory Committee has finalized the job advertisement for the position of Vice-President (Research), and it can be found on our search firm's website at: https://griffithgroup.ca/vice-president-research-university-of-regina/

To apply or to further explore this key academic leadership position at the University of Regina, please contact Jane Griffith (jane@griffithgroup.ca) and/or Sam Walton (sam@griffithgroup.ca).  Should you wish to send names and contact information of possible candidates, please send that information to Jane and/or Sam and they will reach out to those individuals directly.

Thank you,

Jeff Keshen
President & Vice-Chancellor

Update #2:  8 February 2023

The Search Advisory Committee for the University's full-term Vice-President (Research) recommended that a consultant be engaged to help with the search.

We are pleased to announce that Griffith Group has been awarded the contract to assist the Search Advisory Committee in completing the open search.  Griffith Group will begin assisting the committee immediately to ensure that the most qualified and diverse pool of candidates possible will be considered.

The position will be posted shortly.

Yours sincerely,

Jeff Keshen

Update #1:    19 December 2022

Members of the University community,

You will recall that in a December 6 message, I asked for volunteers and nominations to serve on the Search Advisory Committee for the next Vice-President (Research). As Chair of the committee, per the Out-of-Scope Senior Appointments Policy I am responsible for establishing a diverse and representative committee that reflects the University’s commitment to Research, Reconciliation and to Equity, Diversity, and inclusion.

To that end, and considering both the input received and the broad scope of the Vice-President (Research) position, I have now established the Search Advisory Committee membership. Joining me on the committee are:

• david Gregory – Provost and Vice-President (Academic)
• Lori Campbell - Associate Vice-President (Indigenous Engagement)
• Aziz Douai - Dean (Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research)
• Christine Ramsay - Associate Dean, Graduate and Research (Faculty of Media, Art, and Performance)
• Sandra Zilles - Canada Research Chair in Computational Learning Theory (Faculty of Science)
• Nicholas Carleton - Professor of Psychology (Faculty of Arts)
• Raymond Deschamps - Senior Advisor to the Vice-President Research (Executive Offices)
• Whitney Blaisdell - Ph.D Student and sessional instructor (Faculty of Education)

The committee will hold its first meeting in the new year, at which time it will recommend whether an executive search firm should be contracted, and whether short-listed candidates should be required to give a public presentation.

The committee will be supported in its work by Ms D’arcy Schauerte from the President’s Office and a representative from Human Resources.

Thank you to the committee members for participating in this important process, and thank you to all who volunteered or nominated a colleague to serve.

Updates on the committee’s progress will be posted here.

Thank you

Jeff Keshen
President and Vice-Chancellor