Kuehne appointed Vice-President Academic and Provost

The University of Victoria's Board of Governors announced today that Dr. Valerie Kuehne, an exceptional academic and institutional leader and a dedicated member of the UVic community for 25 years, is the university's new Vice-President Academic and Provost, effective July 1, 2015 for a five-year term. She is currently acting in that capacity.

"In an international search with a pool of strong candidates, Valerie emerged as the selection committee's clear choice," says UVic President Jamie Cassels, who chaired the committee. "She has proven administrative acumen, a passion for students and our university, a strategic focus and a track record of success in getting things done. She has the confidence of our university community and we are all looking forward to her leadership and working together in the years to come."

Before being appointed as acting provost in July 2014, Kuehne served as UVic's vice-president external relations from 2005 to 2012. Under her leadership, the division of external relations was aligned more fully with the university's academic mission and working relationships with academic units were put on a more systematic and strategic footing.

The selection committee, a 17-member body comprising faculty, staff, students and academic leaders, cited Kuehne's "great integrity, energy and commitment to UVic . . . clear, dynamic vision for our university, rooted in consultation, collaboration and deep appreciation for us and our place in the community, the region and the world. . . . Valerie is described by those who know her as open-minded, thoughtful and respectful—as an excellent listener and a problem-solver."

An accomplished teacher and researcher, Kuehne as a leader has a record at UVic of cultivating collaboration, promoting principled decision-making and facilitating collective success. She came to UVic in 1990 as a faculty member in the School of Child and Youth Care where she remains a full professor and, while vice-president external relations, continued to publish and present her research in peer-reviewed journals and at academic conferences. She has served as director of child and youth care and as associate vice-president academic planning, playing a critical leadership role in the establishment of the Island Medical Program at UVic.

For the past nine years, she has been an instructor at the annual Senior University Administrators Course—Canada's foremost professional development program for senior university leaders.

"I feel both honoured and privileged to be given the opportunity to be provost of such a great university, one which I both know so well and care about so deeply," says Kuehne. "I'm excited about working with faculty, students, and staff to realize our shared goals for UVic leadership in teaching, learning, research and community impact around the world."

Kuehne's fields of study include intergenerational relations in family and community contexts; human development and health; social supports and social policy for children and families; and leadership in academic settings.

She has a BScN in Nursing from the University of Alberta, an MEd in Child Development from Loyola University of Chicago, and an MA and PhD in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University.

Kuehne has also participated in various community initiatives and served on numerous boards in the Victoria area.

Her appointment was endorsed by 81 per cent of faculty who voted in the ratification ballot that followed from the recommendation of the selection committee.