Jagdeep Singh Bachher, UW’s newest chancellor, was installed on Oct. 25. His term began on July 1, and will run until June 30, 2027. The role involves representing the institution at public events, presiding over convocation ceremonies, and conferring certificates, diplomas and degrees. 

Bachher is a triple alumnus from UW who currently serves as the university’s 12th chancellor. Bachher earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering in 1993, and went on to earn his master’s in management sciences in 1994, and a doctor of philosophy in management sciences in 2000.

When asked about what drew Bachher to the role of chancellor, he said, “It’s a role [that allows me] to continue being part of the university. And I thought it’d be extremely exciting and a chance to continue to give back and be more of a direct connection to the students. Hopefully through my actions I can inspire them and be a part of the happiest day of their life, which is convocation.” Bachher has served on the UW’s Board of Governors since 2018, including as its vice chair since 2020. 

Bachher’s day-to-day activities include introducing students and potential investors to the university and helping wherever he can. He stated, “The university community, the President’s office, the board members, they all know that I’m the chancellor and [am] available to help out or participate in things that they think would be interesting.” He emphasized that the role is a learning experience and therefore the more he learns, the more he can be aware of the things that are going on. 

He noted that the convocation in June provided a chance for him to practice the ceremonial part of his role: “The June convocation was the pre-exam and October’s convocation was the examination. I am glad I did the pre-exam because it gave me a sense of how things work and how well orchestrated everything is. My role is to be the global ambassador for the university so it’s really about connections and conversations.” He also explained that if he could successfully preside over the spring and fall convocations, that would be a win in the books of a chancellor’s duties.  Since the convocations, he has been reflecting on what more he can do as chancellor. 

When asked about how he was selected to be chancellor, he said, “I don’t think there’s a hiring process because there’s no recruiter, there’s no headhunter, there’s no job application. It is a voting process that is done by the academic Senate and they identify candidates and speak to them about their interests.” He did however mention that when the 11th chancellor, Dominic Barton, was completing his term, the conversation of Bachher becoming chancellor was being tossed around. 

Bachher was asked about what his experience was like as a UW student and how this has shaped where he is today. He started his first year of university at age 15, after he had just immigrated from Nigeria. “I’m sure it’s not the ideal,” he said. “You know, you’re the youngest in your class. You can’t go and party with your friends. You’re getting used to a sort of different style of homework from what it was like when I was growing up in Africa. So I would say the first year was a lot of just learning the Waterloo way.” 

He emphasized that he wouldn’t be where he is today if it wasn’t for the university:  “Many of [the] things that I might have learned at the university at the time, I may not have appreciated how important they were for the journey later on.” Bachher explained that as a university student, you are constantly thinking about the next term and you’re not really reflecting on and enjoying the journey. 

When asked about his vision of the university in the future and what he would like to achieve by the end of his term, Bachher said, “It’s very hard to measure the impact in three years. All you can do is begin a journey and lay a foundation. And right now, Waterloo at 100 is the journey that we are all on and that is 33 years from now. So [my] three years is really the first three of that 33-year journey. So what I’m hoping for is that I can help the university move in the direction of the mission around Waterloo at 100.” Waterloo at 100 is a strategic vision looking towards the future of the university’s 100th anniversary in 2057. 

Bachher emphasized that we as a university need to set out global futures for society, health, and technology. He stressed that all faculties at the university need to work together to think about solutions. “We’ve been amazing at entrepreneurship, maybe we’ve got to think about social entrepreneurship,” Bachher said. “If you connect the dots there’s lots of new things that can be created and invented.” He continued to talk about how important it is to set a bold vision, and how we also need the financial resources to get there. “The University of Waterloo in 67 years has grown to $525,000,000 CAD. The question I’ve been asking is: why is the endowment only $525,000,000? Why can’t it be a billion dollars? We need to have the resources to be able to go after a bold vision.” 

“You don’t dream of becoming chancellor but when it happens you realize it might be a dream for a day but it’s actually your reality — and you want to make it an amazing reality,” Bachher said, adding how anyone at the university today could become chancellor in the future if they stay connected and never forget what the university has done for them. He said, “It could happen in 20 years, could be in 15 years, but it’s possible and to me, that was the most exciting thing… If I can do this, so can any of you.”