Alan Shepard (born ) is a Canadian academic and the current and 11th president and vice-chancellor of Western University in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, effective July 2019. He previously served as the president and vice-chancellor of

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Early life and education

Shepard was born in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, and is a

dual citizen Dual or Duals may refer to: Paired/two things * Dual (mathematics), a notion of paired concepts that mirror one another ** Dual (category theory), a formalization of mathematical duality *** see more cases in :Duality theories * Dual (grammatical ...

of both Canada and the United States. He has a background in

Early Modern English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

. He received an BA in English literature from

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...

in 1983 and received a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in English from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1990.

Career

Shepard served as the chair of the English department at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

from 1998 to 2002. He moved to Canada in 2002, where he began working as a visiting research fellow at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. Shepard was hired as an associate vice-president academic at

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

in 2005. In 2007, Shepard became the provost and vice-president academic at

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

, where he worked until 2012. At Ryerson, Shepard led the development of a

business incubator Business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services starting with management training and office space and ending with venture ca ...

called the Digital Media Zone. In August 2012, Shepard became the president and vice-chancellor of

. His two predecessors,

Judith Woodsworth Judith Weisz Woodsworth (born 1948) is a Canadian academic and university administrator, having formerly served as President of Concordia University (Montreal), Concordia University and Laurentian University. Early life and education Born in Paris ...

and

Claude Lajeunesse Claude Lajeunesse (born 1941) is a Canadian who is the president and chief executive officer of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, appointed to that post on Nov. 30, 2007. He is the former president and vice-chancellor of Concordia ...

, were both removed midway through their terms due to scandals. In November 2018, Shepard announced he would be leaving Concordia on 30 June 2019 to become the president and vice-chancellor of Western University in

. In July 2019, Shepard replaced

Amit Chakma Amit Chakma (born 25 April 1959) is a university administrator who was appointed vice-chancellor of the University of Western Australia in July 2020. Previously he served as the 10th president and vice-chancellor of the University of Western Onta ...

to become the 11th president of Western. In December 2022 he was reappointed to a second term as President. Shepard has served on the board of directors at

Universities Canada Universities Canada (french: Universités Canada) is an organization that represents Canada's universities. It is a non-profit national organization that coordinates university policies, guidance and direction. Formed in 1911, as the Association ...

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

, and the

Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal The Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (until 2016: Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal) (french: Chambre de commerce du Montréal métropolitain) is an association of businesses and businesspeople in Greater Montreal. In its own wo ...

. He is currently chair of the Canadian Research Knowledge Network.

Personal life

Shepard has two children with his husband Stephen Powell, an associate professor at Concordia University. On 31 December 2021 Shepard took a leave of absence from the Presidency of Western after an unexpected heart attack. After consultation with the Board of Governors, President Shepard entrusted his authority to Dr. Sarah Prichard, the university's provost and vice-president academic, for a period of at least 30 days.

References

External links

Biography at Western University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Alan Living people Canadian people of American descent St. Olaf College alumni University of Virginia alumni Texas Christian University faculty University of Toronto faculty University of Guelph faculty Concordia University faculty Toronto Metropolitan University faculty LGBT academics Canadian LGBT people Year of birth missing (living people) Presidents of the University of Western Ontario 21st-century LGBT people