William F. Flanagan (born 1960) is a Canadian academic. In March 2020, his appointment was announced as the next president of the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

, succeeding

David H. Turpin David Howard Turpin (born 14 July 1956) is a Canadian scholar and the former university president. Turpin was the president and vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta (2015–2020) and the University of Victoria (2000 to 2013). In 2010 ...

in July 2020. He previously served as the dean of the faculty of law at Queen's University from to 2005 to 2019. Flanagan was born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, the son of two teachers. In his teen years, he worked as a page in the

Canadian House of Commons The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicam ...

, where his maternal uncle Jack Horner was a Member of Parliament. He attended

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...

where he earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree, then the

University of Toronto Faculty of Law The University of Toronto Faculty of Law (U of T Law, UToronto Law) is the law school of the University of Toronto. The Faculty's admissions process is the most selective of law schools in Canada and is one of the most selective in North America. ...

, earning a J.D. degree in 1985. He also earned a

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

from the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

in 1986 and a master's degree in law from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

in 1989. In 1987, he served as a law clerk for Supreme Court of Canada justice Willard Estey. He joined Queen's University's faculty of law in 1991. He taught international trade and investment, property law and corporate law, and founded the International Law Spring Program at the International Study Centre in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

at Queen's University. Flanagan is married to his husband Saffron Sri, who is originally from Sri Lanka.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan, Bill 1960s births Living people Carleton University alumni Columbia Law School alumni People from Edmonton Presidents of the University of Alberta Queen's University at Kingston faculty University of Paris alumni University of Toronto Faculty of Law alumni Canadian expatriates in France Canadian LGBT people