A three-time Waterloo Engineering alum has been formally installed as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo, becoming the first graduate to lead the institution.
Dr. Bill Rosehart (BASc ’96, MASc ’97, PhD ’01), who earned all three degrees in electrical and computer engineering, was installed as the University’s eighth president during a ceremony on October 22, 2026. In his remarks, Rosehart said Waterloo’s greatest strength remains the qualities that have defined it since its founding — challenging convention, hands-on experience and innovation — and that protecting that identity is key to driving Canadian prosperity.
“We will not meet this moment by becoming more cautious, or by turning into a more generic version of ourselves, or by copying any other university,” he said. “We stay distinctively Waterloo.”
Rosehart brings more than two decades of senior leadership experience at the University of Calgary and the University of Guelph. That includes more than 10 years as Dean of the Schulich School of Engineering at Calgary, where he launched an Indigenous Engineering Pathways initiative. Most recently, as provost and vice-president, academic at Guelph, he led the launch of a new College of Engineering. A researcher in electrical energy systems and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, he has championed entrepreneurial and experiential learning and partnerships that connect education and research to real-world impact.
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