Colleagues gathered to bid farewell to outgoing president and vice chancellor Vivek Goel at a celebration of his tenure as president on June 3, from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Indigenous Gathering Space outside SLC.

“It’s been a privilege to be part of this community,” Goel said in an interview with Imprint at the gathering. Goel has served as president of UW since 2021.

“If there’s one thing I wish I could have done more of, it would be having more opportunities for interactions within the community,” Goel expressed. “There’s never enough time to do everything you want to do … I do wish I had more time to get out and spend time with the community and students. I started in the [COVID-19] pandemic, so the first 18 months, that was really impossible.”

The aftermath of the pandemic lockdowns were also trying times to navigate. “The biggest challenge we’ve faced as an institution, like most universities, is financial sustainability,” Goel said, citing the international student enrolment regulations and other lasting economic factors that have led to budget cuts at UW. “I hope we’ve put in place systems for planning and budgeting [that are] integrated across the institution, [and] that will position the institution in a much better way going into the future.”

Past and present university leaders also made remarks on their time working with Goel, including vice president of finance and admin Jacinda Reitsma, Indigenous Knowledge Keeper Myeengun Henry, former associate vice-president of Indigenous relations Jean Becker, and board of governors chair Murray Gamble.

On the financial administration aspect, Reitsma highlighted Goel’s commitment to good governance stating that “He understands that while planning direction and good governance may not always be exciting, done properly they ensure that we can do exciting things.”

On Goel’s contribution to the university’s efforts towards truth and reconciliation, both Henry and Becker applauded Vivek’s efforts. Gamble spoke of his experience working as the chair of governors at UW during Goel’s leadership. He elaborated on Goel’s lasting legacy, such with the CareNext Coalition, which is anticipated to integrate healthcare systems through the new hospital building in about ten years. 

Jordan Bauman, an undergraduate student senator representing the science faculty, spoke about the outgoing president’s commitment to robust and future-focused leadership through his involvement in two main areas: the campus advancement plan and Waterloo at 100. Bauman elaborated on Goel’s alignment with physical growth, while still considering sustainability and green space, as well as prioritizing student experiences through housing and accessibility. 

Goel will continue working at UW as a member of the faculty of health, focusing on new initiatives like the CareNext Coalition and Waterloo Region Health Network (WRHN)’s new hospital. He also hopes to promote interdisciplinary collaboration between community members across disciplines for new initiatives that advance technology in healthcare. “I find that people are working, but they’re often isolated from other people that they could be working with that could help them advance further,” he stated. “People in engineering, computer science, and arts, all working on problems related to the health system … I hope that I’ll be able to help bring some of those people together.”

The new president and vice-chancellor Bill Rosehart is set to begin his tenure on July 1. Goel says that he hopes his successor “will continue to focus on the success of the University of Waterloo, and all the members of the community: students, staff, faculty, and alumni.”