Vice-Principal Academic & Research

Responsibilities

As per the Bishop’s University Statutes, the responsibilities of the Vice-Principal Academic & Research are as follow:

• The Vice-Principal Academic and the Academic Deans shall be the Academic Officers of the University and the Executive Officers of Senate. The Vice-Principal Academic will coordinate with the Academic Deans the academic programs and research activities of the University. The Academic Deans shall also report to the Principal and Vice-Chancellor for non-academic matters or regarding other functions or projects assigned by the Principal and Vice-Chancellor from time to time.
• The Vice-Principal Academic is the senior Academic Officer of the University, and shall be responsible for the coordination, in conjunction with the Academic Deans, of the delivery of the academic programs and research activities of the University.
• The Vice-Principal Academic shall maintain close ties with other universities in Quebec, the rest of Canada and internationally, with government and government agencies, and with other institutions on matters of an academic nature.
• The Vice-Principal Academic advises the Board of Governors on matters related to the faculty, contract faculty and librarian collective agreements and is the University’s chief negotiator for such agreements.
• The Vice-Principal Academic is also responsible for the on-going development of support services in teaching and research, the coordination of the administration’s participation in academic planning, and for academic evaluation activities with respect to faculty and to academic programs. He or she is also responsible for the implementation and supervision of academic policy and programs in Continuing Education.
• The Vice-Principal Academic shall supervise research and the international exchange programs and shall represent the University externally.
• The University Librarian shall be responsible to the Vice-Principal Academic for the conduct and operation of the University Library, and may be required by the Senate to report to it from time to time on those aspects of the Library which the Senate considers to be of academic interest.

Biography

Dr. Andrew Webster, Vice Principal, Academic and Research

After living and working for more than two decades in Australia, Dr. Andrew Webster has returned to his native Eastern Townships and been installed as the Vice-Principal Academic and Research at Bishop’s since August 2022. Most recently he served as the Dean of Academic Operations for the College of Arts, Business, Law and Social Sciences at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. Before that, he occupied the posts of Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Deputy Dean of the School of Business and Governance, Dean of the Murdoch University International Study Centre Dubai, and Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching) in the School of Arts at the same institution.

As an historian of the politics, diplomacy and international relations of modern Europe, his research focuses on the period between the two world wars and the linked themes of international disarmament and the rise and fall of the League of Nations. He obtained a PhD in History from the University of Cambridge in 2001 and holds a master’s from the same institution, and a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.

Associate Vice-Principal Academic

Dr. Claire Grogan, Associate Vice-Principal Academic

Dr. Claire Grogan is an award-winning Full Professor of English and an internationally renowned scholar in the area of feminist politics in British women’s writing, particularly in the 18th century. She joined Bishop’s in 1994 having completed her undergraduate degree at Trinity College, Oxford University and then a PhD at University of Calgary. Since her first appointment Dr. Grogan has contributed to the University in significant and varied ways. She was Chair of the Department of English on two occasions during which she played a key role in program renewal. Her service to the Association of Professors of Bishop’s University has included a role as Faculty negotiator, member of the Pension Committee, and as First Vice President & Grievance Officer. She has served on the Faculty Evaluation Committee, the Senate Planning Committee, the Senate Research & Scholarship Committee, was co-Chair of the University’s Status of Women Committee, satom Senate and on the Board of Governors.

Most recently, in the 2019-20 academic year, she was interim co-Dean and then interim Dean of Arts & Science.

Dr. Grogan’s leadership, commitment to and passion for Bishop’s is crucial in Bishop’s evolution. We anticipate that she will play a major role in advancing Faculty relations at a critical point for the University. Furthermore, we are confident that she will provide transformational leadership in support of our goal of offering the foremost undergraduate education in Canada.

The key responsibilities of Associate Vice-Principal Academic include:

• Providing leadership with respect to faculty relations by serving on the Evaluation Committee (EC) and the Academic Space Committee. The AVP will also serve on the Academic Joint Committees (Faculty & Librarians and Contract Faculty) and on ad hoc APBU/University parity committees, and participate in the negotiations of the collective agreements and temporary adjustments to collective agreements induced by pandemic-related budget shortfalls;
• Taking charge of regular communications from the academic administration in their areas of responsibilities;
• Operationalizing, in collaboration with the Vice-Principal Academic and Research, Deans and Chairs, all adjustments made necessary by the coronavirus, troubleshooting on a daily basis faculty needs and problems in the delivery of academic programs;
• Supporting and working with faculty to promote innovation in teaching and learning practices;
• In collaboration with Deans, articulating and implementing a consistent cross-divisional experiential learning policy;
• Orienting new chairs, providing them mentorship and opportunities for their professional development;
• Developing strategies for enhancing the diversity of the faculty as well as leading academic-related equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives.

The Team

Mr. Jimmy Couturier

Graduate Studies Coordinator

Contact Information

Research and Graduate Studies Phone: 819-822-9600 ext. 2267work Email: jimmy.couturier@ubishops.caINTERNET

Custom Metadata Fields

• Office: MCG 216

Ms. Jennifer Downey

Academic Programs Project Coordinator

Contact Information

Administration, VP Academic Office Email: jennifer.downey@ubishops.caINTERNET

Custom Metadata Fields

• Office: MOU 206

Ms. Kathryn Standish

Coordinator of Continuing Education

Contact Information

Continuing Education Office Phone: 819-822-9600 ext. 2254work Email: kathryn.standish@ubishops.caINTERNET

Custom Metadata Fields

• Office: NIC 210B