The appointment was approved by the Board of Governors following approval by and on the recommendation of Senate.
“Charmaine Dean brings to the University of Waterloo a distinguished academic career, deep relationships across faculties, industry and government, and an entrepreneurial mindset,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of Waterloo. “I am delighted to welcome her to the University’s leadership team. I’m confident she will build on our tremendous achievements and impacts across multiple disciplines to advance Waterloo’s reputation as a leader in world-changing research.”
Dean, an alumnus of Waterloo, is currently professor and dean of the Faculty of Science at Western University. Prior to her role at Western, she played a major role in establishing the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University in her capacity as associate dean of that Faculty, where she was the founding chair of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science.
“I am honoured to join the University of Waterloo, which is known worldwide for innovation and transformational research,” said Dean. “I look forward to advancing the University’s research strengths and to working with Faculty and students to realize aspirations and to continually set the bar high for leading edge research.”
She has further served the academic community as president of the Statistical Society of Canada, as president of the International Biometrics Society (Western North American Region), as president of the Biostatistics Section of the Statistical Society of Canada, and has given more than 15 years of service in numerous capacities to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, as well as service to CIHR, and various international granting councils. She is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Dean earned her BSc (Honours) in mathematics at the University of Saskatchewan (1980) and later her master’s degree (1984) and PhD (1988) in statistics at the University of Waterloo. She is the recipient of many awards including the CRM-SSC prize, the University of Waterloo Alumni Achievement Medal and a Trinidad and Tobago High Commission Award.
Dean succeeds D. George Dixon, who has served as Waterloo’s vice-president, university research since 2007.
“Professor Dixon has served the University of Waterloo with distinction and will ensure a smooth transition to Charmaine Dean,” said Hamdullahpur.
