“Serving as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Guelph has been an extraordinary privilege, and I am deeply honoured to have had the opportunity to make a contribution to this University and its future,” Vaccarino says.

First appointed to a five-year term in 2014, Vaccarino is U of G’s eighth president. A neuroscientist and internationally recognized expert in mental health and addiction, Vaccarino will continue as a faculty member in the Department of Psychology following an administrative leave beginning in fall 2020.

“Franco Vaccarino has been an excellent president, and the University of Guelph has benefited greatly from his leadership during the past five years,” says Shauneen Bruder, chair of the University’s Board of Governors.

“His creative, positive and strategic vision for U of G has positioned us to build on our reputation in Canada and beyond as a top-tier comprehensive research university.”

Under his leadership, the University has a renewed strategic planning framework to guide planning and decision-making, and has reached new heights in fundraising and research, Bruder says.

A presidential search in accordance with Board of Governors policies and procedures has begun.

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Each artwork is eye-catching on its own. Viewing them together makes me think of collaborations between disciplines at U of G. Art and science talk to each other on my wall and across this campus.

Guelph is home to experts who devote their lives to profound study of disciplines in the humanities, sciences and social sciences. At the same time, our researchers often connect with each other in surprising ways.

For example, our School of Environmental Sciences invites artists for a residency program intended to challenge our imagination, and to offer new viewpoints on science and culture.

Veterinary researchers, biologists and ecologists meet up under U of G’s “one-health” approach to tackle health problems where people, animals and the environment intersect — notably in our Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses.

In our Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre, Guelph engineers work with plant scientists to find uses for crops as renewable materials for car parts.

Each of these disciplines matters on its own. Perhaps more exciting is what happens when they come together in shared projects.

This campus is a community of minds that meet and collaborate and innovate together. In our fast-changing world with its big and often messy challenges, fostering those connections is more important than ever for innovation.

At U of G, dealing with epidemics and infectious disease outbreaks calls for bringing together expert minds not just in human health but also in animal health and environmental studies.

Beyond our own planet, we are looking outward to new worlds, and to a host of new challenges that we can meet only by joining minds across physics, planetary studies, humanities, environmental sciences and social sciences.

As technology continues to evolve, we need to bring minds to bear on new ways of innovating. “Innovation 2.0” will fundamentally change how we think and how we understand our evolving world.

Supporting Canada’s university communities — with their sometimes chaotic chatter in the classroom, the laboratory and the library — is vital for fostering Innovation 2.0 for a better future.

Franco Vaccarino
President and Vice-Chancellor

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Where do we see ourselves today? What does this University stand for, and how will we chart tomorrow’s path?

As you know, the University has many respected traditions and long-standing areas of strength. Those aspects are as timeless as the values that have sustained us for the past 50 years as a university and the past 150 years since our college beginnings.

This strategic renewal will help us integrate those traditions and strengths with new and emerging themes. Since I joined U of G more than a year ago, I’ve had plenty of conversations and new experiences. I sense a deep pride in the University’s heritage coupled with an appetite here for change, as we adapt to a fast-changing environment.

What will this strategic renewal process look like? I see it as an extension of those conversations and experiences.

Think of it as a larger conversation among our community — students, staff, faculty, alumni, our Board of Governors and Senate, and external partners. I plan to lead the discussion with help from the University’s senior leadership team and with guidance from a broadly representative strategic planning committee to be established in the coming months.

We will begin by gathering your ideas and identifying themes to be explored in greater depth to distill a vision that will shape the University’s future. In addition to creating a document to guide our planning over the next five to 10 years, these conversations also aim to do something else that is just as important, if not more so. They will help us affirm and further strengthen institutional pride while fortifying confidence in our ability to work together to create a vibrant future for this University.

The resulting vision and renewed sense of identity will guide us into our shared future — a future focused on continued excellence in research and teaching; on preparing graduates to see their potential and make connections in new and transformative ways; on new and innovative connections with our other key partners; and on fostering pride in our shared accomplishments.

I invite you to join in this conversation to help chart our path to tomorrow.

Franco Vaccarino
President and Vice-Chancellor

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