For any institution, having a strong leader is inevitably one of the most crucial factors in ensuring its success and defining its future. At a university like UW, the president has responsibilities like upholding institutional reputation, setting the tone for a long-term vision, making decisions on campus development, and resource management.

Back in October 2024, UW’s current president, Vivek Goel, announced his decision to end his tenure and not seek another term due to family circumstances. Although his term officially ends on June 30, 2026, the process of finding the next UW president has already begun. As this process inches forward, it begs the following questions: what actually makes a good UW president? Who decides? How do you find someone fit for the role? 

The process of finding and electing a new president takes more time, people, and discussion than one may think, involving unique aspects like publicity, stakeholders, and strategic fitting. Established in 1973, Policy 50 of the University of Waterloo Act is critical in guiding the process. It outlines things like qualifications, term of office, and appointment procedures. In other words, it provides basic rules that finding and being president must adhere to.

UW secretary Genevieve Gauthier-Chalifour assists the search by interpreting the policy and ensuring integrity. She helps provide a timeline for the overall process, which is triggered the moment it is known a presidential term is ending. Before the search for president is able to begin, a Presidential Nominating Committee must be formed (this is the team that will conduct the search itself). Call for nominations for committee membership begins right after the end of a tenure is announced, with the timeline of formation and required member positions guided by Policy 50 as well. 

The Presidential Nominating Committee is composed of individuals from different faculties, affiliated institutions, and offices. Undergraduate students are included as well, being drawn from student members of the Board of Governors, appointed on the recommendation. The Committee currently consists of 19 members, with UW alumni Murray Gamble and Teresa Fortney as the chair and vice-chair respectively. The Nominating Committee is supported by the secretary and a search consultant, which is currently Laverne Smith & Associates Inc., who has deep knowledge of the university sector and potential candidates, and can help guide conversations amongst committee members. 

The Committee then interviews each presidential candidate at least twice, and Gauthier-Chalifour underlines that this is a two-way process. In other words, while the university is interviewing potential candidates, the candidates are also interviewing the university, ensuring their leadership style, vision, and goals would align with the institution. That means the university must provide adequate information to the candidates. When it comes down to the final nominees, the Committee has discussions in order to come to a consensus about their final recommendation. From the time the Committee is established, it takes around 10-12 months to elect a new president. 

In addition to the nominating committee, students, faculty, and staff have the opportunity to voice their opinion during this process. On the university’s presidential search webpage, there is a section dedicated to community input which states: “Consultation with the community is an integral part of the comprehensive search process. Members of the UW community are invited to provide input through a brief questionnaire facilitated by Laverne Smith & Associates.” The questionnaire asks questions like what priorities a president should have and what challenges they should expect to face. Gauthier-Chalifour mentions that receiving input from the broader community is important to the process because everything is taken into consideration and competing views are balanced out. This does raise questions about whether opposing views end up negating each other (meaning neither concern is addressed), or if there is a formal and educated process for weighing differing opinions. On top of the questionnaire, UW community members can send emails to presidentialsearch@uwaterloo.ca to provide feedback or ask questions.  

The entire process, from committee member nominations to discussions led by the search consultant, is designed to ensure that the next president is a good fit for the university. But from a student perspective, it seems a good president is one that listens. Second-year biomedical engineering student Amelie Gong stated that UW is an incredibly diverse place with a range of people that are extremely passionate and driven in different areas. For her, a good UW president supports that by “understanding those diverse backgrounds/fields and understanding the link between student culture, school, and employment.” 

In a similar vein, Anoosha Trehan, who is in her third year in the biotechnology and chartered professional accountancy program, mentioned that a good president is “well-versed in all issues and actually takes action based on student input.”

Third-year legal studies undergraduate student Rowan Sinclair pointed to the pro-Palestine protests last spring and stated that “the ideal president of the university should try to negotiate with their student body if anything is wrong.” 

Evidently, a major priority for students is to feel heard and understood. Collecting community input like this from students and taking action to implement those standards can potentially shape the dynamic between the student body and senior leadership. Given the fact that the needs of students are constantly evolving, it’s important for university leadership to coordinate and listen to students. By doing so, it ensures that the institution adapts to changing demands, better fostering a landscape that supports academic growth and overall community well-being.

Though it might be easy to lose sight of why it even matters, having a good UW president really can directly impact student, faculty, and staff experiences. Gauthier-Chalifour was adamant that an important part of the consultation process is hearing from the broader community, and that means taking all feedback into consideration. It may seem easy to ignore the emails on the topic, but it would be worthwhile to stay attuned to any updates and provide honest feedback about what you look for in the next UW president. While it’s unclear how exactly the university uses student feedback to inform the process, the larger number of voices and opinions there are, the harder student voices are to ignore.

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UW has had seven presidents throughout its history, including Goel, who will have served the shortest term from 2021 to 2026. Before becoming president, Goel worked at the University of Toronto for about 30 years, and served in various roles including provost, vice president and professor. He also served as president and CEO of Public Health Ontario from 2008 until 2014. Goel obtained a doctor of medicine (MD) from McGill University and completed post-graduate medical training in community medicine at the University of Toronto. He also obtained a master’s degree in community health from University of Toronto and a master’s degree in biostatistics at Harvard University in the U.S.

Before Goel, Feridun Hamdullahpur served as the sixth president of UW from 2010 to 2021. He has had an over 35-year career in research and higher education, and also served as vice president academic and provost at UW, as well as various leadership roles at Carleton University. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering from the Technical University of Nova Scotia after earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Istanbul.

Davis Johnston served as president from 1999 to 2010. He completed his studies with distinction in three countries: Harvard University in the U.S., University of Cambridge in England, and Queen’s University in Canada. He went on to serve as professor at various post-secondary institutions, and eventually served administrative roles as the dean of law at the University of Western and principal of McGill university. After his time as the president of UW, Johnston served as the governor general of Canada from 2010 to 2017.

From 1993 to 1999, James Downey was the president of UW. He graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland and earned a PhD in English literature. He earned a series of administrative and academic posts at Carleton University, including president and vice president academic. During his presidency at UW, Downey also served terms as Chair of the Council of Ontario Universities and Chair of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. 

Douglas Wright was the president of UW from 1981 to 1993. He studied civil engineering at universities of Toronto, Illinois and Cambridge, where he obtained a PhD degree. Wright taught for several years at  Queen’s University until 1958, when he joined UW, initially as the first chairman of civil engineering, and then the first dean of engineering. During his tenure, Waterloo developed the largest school of engineering in Canada.

From 1970 to 1981, Burton Matthews served as president of UW. He obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto through the Ontario Agricultural College, a master’s degree from the University of Missouri and a PhD from Cornell. Matthews started his academic career at OAC and stayed with the University of Guelph at its founding in 1964, serving as the first vice president academic.

The first president of UW, Joseph Gerald Hagey, served from 1958 to 1969. He was the key person among a group of Waterloo Region citizens who initiated the founding of UW. He was educated in Hamilton and later a Waterloo College, then a church college affiliated with the University of Western. He graduated in 1928 with a bachelor of arts degree. He joined the B. F. Goodrich sales team, and after stints in the printing field in Toronto and Kitchener, he became advertising and public relations manager for that company. In 1953, he left B.F. Goodrich to take on the position of president of Waterloo College.