Yorkville University recently appointed Dr. Thomas Chase to oversee its west coast operations as Principal and Vice President Academic of the school’s New Westminster, B.C. Campus.
Reporting to Yorkville University Provost and Executive Vice President Dr. Allyson Lowe, Dr. Chase will be responsible for leading the B.C. campus in its commitment to enhance the student and employee experience. He’s also tasked with pursuing growth through the development of new programs and strengthening connections within the wider B.C post-secondary community.
Dr. Chase brings with him to this new role at Yorkville nearly 40 years of post-secondary teaching and administrative experience, most recently as Interim President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Regina. He also served at Regina for ten years prior to that as Provost and Vice President (Academic) of the 16,500-student school, which boasts three federated colleges on campus, a workforce of approximately 2,600, and an annual operating budget of approximately $250 million.
From 2009 to 2011 Dr. Chase served as Vice President, Academic and Provost at Royal Roads University in Victoria, B.C. And prior to that, he served the University of Regina for 25 years as a professor in the Department of English, founding Director of the Centre for Academic Technologies, Associate Dean of Arts, and as Dean of that Faculty.
“My academic career falls roughly into two halves: the first half as a professor, teaching courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and introducing web-supported teaching and learning in the early days of web technology; and the second half in academic administration as a dean and provost,” Dr. Chase said.
“That focus on what students need and on what our responsibilities and duties to students are, has been my whole life, both as a professor and as an administrator, and it will continue to be so at Yorkville.”
In addition to meeting the needs of students through high-quality programming, Dr. Chase said his other main goals in his new role as Principal and Vice President Academic of Yorkville’s B.C. Campus are continued growth, enhanced government relations, and increasing the depth and number of partnerships that the school has with other B.C. institutions.
“And I also really want to develop a sense of community at the campus among faculty and staff. I believe in excellent interpersonal relations in the workplace and I’m going to do everything I can to promote that.”
“Developing and deepening our partnerships and increasing Yorkville’s reputation among other post-secondary institutions for high quality, student-focused, market-responsive education is a high priority for me,” he said.
One of the biggest factors in Dr. Chase’s decision to come out of retirement and take on this new challenge was the prospect of working alongside Yorkville University President, Dr. Julia Christensen Hughes – one of Canada’s leading voices on academic integrity, business ethics and corporate social responsibility.
“Years ago, I heard Julia speak about her focus on students, on learning, and on academic integrity. I was very impressed by what she said and the way that she said it,” he said. “When I saw that she had taken up the Yorkville presidency, the prospect of working with her and the rest of the Yorkville team was exciting.”
Dr. Chase’s admiration for his new president was reciprocated by Christensen Hughes: “In Dr. Chase, we’ve found a thoughtful and passionate leader whose strengths and expertise in the areas of student-focused program delivery, government relations, and community and partnership building will serve our B.C. Campus community well,” she said.
