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Alan Shepard (born c. 1962) is an American-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. He has a background in Early Modern English literature. He received a B.A. in English literature from St. Olaf College in 1983 and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia in 1990.

Career

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

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

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

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. In July 2019, Shepard replaced Amit Chakma to become the 11th president of Western. In December 2022 he was reappointed to a second term as President.

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

References

1. "Queer Concordia hosts Dr. Alan Shepard". The Concordian. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
2. ^ "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. ^ University, Department of Communications and Public Affairs, Western. "Introducing Western's 11th President & Vice-Chancellor". president.uwo.ca. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
5. ^ "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. ^ "Concordia President Alan Shepard leaving Concordia for Western". The Concordian. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
8. ^ "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 (16 May 2019). "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)

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 LGBTQ people
• Canadian LGBTQ academics