After more than 15 years at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Blake Phillips is stepping down as Director of the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) to become Dean of the Dhillon School of Business at the University of Lethbridge. Before he goes, his colleagues, staff and friends at SAF want to mark the moment and thank him for everything he has given the School.
Phillips joined SAF's finance faculty in 2009 and did not stand still for long. He moved through a string of leadership roles, from Associate Director and Deputy Director of Programs to Co-Director of the Bachelor of Sustainability and Financial Management (SFM) Program and has led the School as its Director since September 2022.
At heart, Phillips is a sustainability guy. Well before sustainability became a fixture in finance education, he believed the two belonged together and had the conviction to act on it. That is Phillips in a nutshell: see where things are heading, then get there first.
Anyone who has worked with Phillips knows the pace. He is an avid runner, and he runs the School at much the same tempo, always a few ideas ahead and always ready to try the thing no one else has thought of yet. He has a gift for keeping his colleagues on their toes, in the best way. You never quite know what he will propose next, only that it will be bigger than expected and that he is already halfway there.
Above all, Phillips is a fierce advocate for SAF. He believes the School can hold its own and make its voice heard, and he has a talent for getting its ambitions into the rooms and conversations where they matter. He champions SAF at every turn, quick to celebrate its people and its work, and to build connections across the University and the wider profession.
His signature achievement is one that will outlast his time here. Drawing on his own path from forestry to finance, Phillips helped create and build the SFM program, a partnership with the Faculty of Environment and Canada's first undergraduate degree of its kind. Its first cohort graduated in June 2026, on convocation day, a fitting bookend to his years at SAF. Those 12 students took a chance during a pandemic, urged on by Phillips himself to take a leap of faith on a program that employers were calling for. All 12 crossed the stage with a next step already in hand, six continuing into the Master of Accounting program and six with ESG-related jobs lined up.
Phillips is a steady ally to Indigenous communities and a champion of Indigenous representation at SAF. He made Indigenous enrolment a priority and kept it on the agenda. He insisted that Indigenous representation be part of the School’s main priorities, never an afterthought. It is work the SAF carries forward.
That commitment has taken on a lasting form in a new Indigenous mural installed in the Don Craig atrium in Hagey Hall. For Phillips, it all connects. Accounting and finance, at their core, are about stewardship: measuring what matters, accounting for risk and valuing things properly over the long term. It’s not so different from caring for a forest or a watershed, and it sits comfortably alongside Indigenous ways of knowing and caring for the land. Sustainability, natural systems and sound financial thinking are, to him, part of one understanding.
He has brought that same care to students, teaching across the School's programs and mentoring well beyond the classroom.
"Professor Phillips was one of the biggest influences on my time in SFM," says Harrison Cormier, a fourth-year SFM student. "He held a clear vision for what the program could be while still leaving us room to take our own approach. Teaching accounting, finance or sustainability well is hard enough on its own. He taught all three together and still made space for creativity. That vision is what drew me to the program, and it's why I'm still here."
Colleagues who have worked alongside him describe that same drive. "Blake is a strong leader," says Dr. Ken Klassen, a professor at SAF. "He thinks deeply and strategically about where the School needs to go to be best positioned for the future, and he is not afraid to explore bold new directions. Over the years he has grown more confident and more willing to be bold, and when a plan has needed adjusting, he has shown real pragmatism and flexibility."
Deb Kraft, Deputy Director of Programs, saw it up close too. "Blake is an exceptional leader to work alongside," she says. "He sees where things need to go, and he has the conviction and energy to lead the team there. Working with him has always felt like we were building toward what comes next, rather than simply improving what already exists."
Ask Phillips what he is proudest of, and he turns the credit outward. "I see my role as creating the conditions for our faculty, staff and students to be successful," he says. "Watching the School succeed on the strength of those conditions is the most gratifying part of the job. Those shared successes are what I am proudest of."
He is just as clear about what he hopes endures. "The School has been exceptionally good at reacting to changes in the professions, adapting our programming and taking on relevant, practice-informing research," he says. "I would love to see it keep that innovative spirit and commitment to excellence so that the student experience remains at the forefront of every strategic decision. SAF is a wonderful, supportive community to work in. I hope that never changes."
As Phillips laces up for Lethbridge, he leaves SAF stronger, louder and more ambitious than he found it. We wish him every success at the Dhillon School of Business, and we will miss him, big ideas and all.
