Following a lengthy search process, the University of Windsor has selected its new provost.
Dr. Robert Aguirre has been named to the position of vice-president of academic and provost, and will begin his new job on July 17. He succeeds Dr. Patti Weir, who had been interim provost for two years.
Aguirre will be responsible for the school's academic vision, in the areas of student experience, faculty relations and support, continuing education, information and learning technologies, library services, strategic enrolment management, academic accountability, and international development.
U of W President Dr. Robert Gordon thanked Weir for her contributions and said Aguirre will bring a new perspective to the school.
"Dr. Aguirre’s commitment to diversity and inclusion initiatives on U.S. campuses will translate well to the Canadian context," said Gordon. "With an impressive administrative and scholarly career, Dr. Aguirre’s experience will build on the strong foundation that Dr. Weir established."
Aguirre was most recently a professor of English, and the Dean of the College of Arts and Letters at James Madison University (JMU) in Virginia. He does have a previous connection to the region, having taught at Wayne State University in Detroit from 1997 to 2018. During six of those years, he was an associate dean at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
He has written two books, and numerous articles and papers on material and visual culture, museum studies, travel and transport, and Latinx literature. He had held research fellowships with the University of Michigan and Brown University.
"Over these past months, I have been deeply impressed by the University’s aspirations to be a leader in research and teaching excellence, to embrace innovation for the public good, to be an anchor institution in the Windsor-Essex region, and to create an inclusive community of deep belonging and common cause," said Aguirre. "I am excited to work with university and community partners to carry on this important work."