The Senate was established through the University of Waterloo Act, 1972 and is responsible for academic programs, educational policies, faculty appointments and tenure, qualifications for degrees and diplomas, conferring honorary degrees and appointing the Chancellor. The Senate also has the power, subject to the approval of the Board insofar as the expenditures of funds is concerned, to create, modify or remove schools, institutes, departments or chairs.
The composition of Senate is representative of the University community, with both elected and ex-officio membership. Senators include faculty members, undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, governors and administrative staff. The Act requires that the Senate have a majority of elected faculty members.
The Senate conducts its business through committees that bring recommendations to the Senate at regularly scheduled meetings through the governance year. Meetings include open session, which guests are welcome to attend, and closed sessions reserved for Senators.
- The President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Bill Rosehart, is the Chair of Senate.
- The Vice-President, Academic and Provost, Dr. Thomas Duever, is the Vice-Chair of Senate.
- The Secretary of Senate is Genevieve Gauthier-Chalifour, with Ashley Day designated as the Associate University Secretary for Senate.
Membership 2026-2027
Ex-Officio
| Name | Membership/Title | End of Term |
|---|---|---|
| Jagdeep Singh Bachher | Chancellor | June 30, 2027 |
| Bill Rosehart [Chair] | President and Vice-Chancellor | June 30, 2031 |
| Thomas Duever [Vice-Chair] | Vice-President, Academic and Provost | June 30, 2027 |
| Martin Cooke | Associate Vice-President, Academic | July 1, 2031 |
| Paul Fieguth | Associate Vice-President, Academic Operations | March 26, 2028 |
| Christopher Taylor | Associate Vice-President, EDI-R | Sept 30, 2029 |
| Justin Wan | Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs | June 30, 2031 |
| John Lewis | Associate Vice-President, Indigenous Relations [Interim] | June 30, 2027 |
| Murray Gamble | Chair Board of Governors | August 31, 2027 |
| Alexie Tcheuyap | Dean of Arts | June 30, 2029 |
| Mary Wells | Dean of Engineering | June 30, 2028 |
| Bruce Frayne | Dean of Environment | June 30, 2027 |
| Lili Liu | Dean of Health | June 30, 2027 |
| Chris Houser | Dean of Science | June 30, 2028 |
| Jochen Koenemann | Dean of Mathematics | June 30, 2030 |
| Marcus Shantz | President, Conrad Grebel University College | Dec 30, 2027 |
| David Porreca | President, FAUW | June 30, 2027 |
| Meray Sadek | President, Graduate Student Association | April 30, 2027 |
| Marc Jerry | President, Renison University College | June 30, 2029 |
| Peter Meehan | President, St. Jerome’s University | June 30, 2029 |
| Samir Sharma | President, WUSA | April 30, 2027 |
| Tracy Penny Light | Principal, United College | June 30, 2031 |
| Ray Darling | Registrar | Ongoing |
| Beth Sandore Namachchivaya | University Librarian | Ongoing |
| Jacinda Reitsma | Vice-President, Administration & Finance | April 30, 2027 |
| Charmaine Dean | Vice-President, Research | June 30, 2027 |
Appointed - Board of Governors
| Name | End of Term |
|---|---|
| Aubrey Basdeo | August 31, 2027 |
| Vacant | |
| Vacant | |
| Vacant |
Elected - Faculty
| Name | Faculty | End of Term |
|---|---|---|
| Karen Sunabacka | AFIW Faculty, Conrad Grebel University College | August 31, 2028 |
| Sharon Roberts | AFIW Faculty, Renison University College | August 31, 2028 |
| Veronica Austen | AFIW Faculty, St. Jerome's University | August 31, 2027 |
| Scott Kline | AFIW Faculty, St. Jerome's University | August 31, 2028 |
| Denise Whitehead | AFIW Faculty, St. Jerome's University | August 31, 2029 |
| John Abraham | AFIW Faculty, United College | August 31, 2027 |
| Shana MacDonald | Faculty of Arts | August 31, 2029 |
| Marcel O'Gorman | Faculty of Arts | August 31, 2029 |
| Bojana Videkanic | Faculty of Arts | August 31, 2028 |
| David Clausi | Faculty of Engineering | August 31, 2028 |
| Christopher Nielsen | Faculty of Engineering | August 31, 2029 |
| En-Hui Yang | Faculty of Engineering | August 31, 2027 |
| Johanna Wandel | Faculty of Environment | August 31, 2027 |
| Jeffrey Wilson | Faculty of Environment | August 31, 2028 |
| Clarence Woudsma | Faculty of Environment | August 31, 2028 |
| Michael Barnett-Cowan | Faculty of Health | August 31, 2029 |
| Helen Chen | Faculty of Health | August 31, 2028 |
| Heather Mair | Faculty of Health | August 31, 2027 |
| Raouf Boutaba | Faculty of Mathematics | August 31, 2028 |
| Cecilia Cotton | Faculty of Mathematics | August 31, 2027 |
| Martin Karsten | Faculty of Mathematics | August 31, 2029 |
| Laura Deakin | Faculty of Science | August 31, 2028 |
| Andrea Edginton | Faculty of Science | August 31, 2027 |
| Chris Yakymchuk | Faculty of Science | August 31, 2029 |
Elected - Faculty-at-Large
| Name | Faculty | End of Term |
|---|---|---|
| Carter Neal | Faculty of Arts | August 31, 2028 |
| Neil Randall | Faculty of Arts | August 31, 2027 |
| Gerald Vorhees | Faculty of Arts | August 31, 2029 |
| Nasser Abukhdeir | Faculty of Engineering | August 31, 2027 |
| Jason Grove | Faculty of Engineering | August 31, 2029 |
| Nadine Ibrahim | Faculty of Engineering | August 31, 2029 |
| Marios Ioannidis | Faculty of Engineering | August 31, 2029 |
| Pendar Mahmoudi | Faculty of Engineering | August 31, 2028 |
| Sushanta Mitra | Faculty of Engineering | August 31, 2028 |
| Derek Armitage | Faculty of Environment | August 31, 2029 |
| Michael Drescher | Faculty of Environment | August 31, 2028 |
| Rob Gorbet | Faculty of Environment | August 31, 2028 |
| Jennifer Lynes Murray | Faculty of Environment | August 31, 2029 |
| Mark Seasons | Faculty of Environment | August 31, 2027 |
| Su-Yin Tan | Faculty of Environment | August 31, 2028 |
| Benoit Charbonneau | Faculty of Math | August 31, 2029 |
| Hans De Sterck | Faculty of Math | August 31, 2027 |
| Sachin Kotecha | Faculty of Math | August 31, 2027 |
| Ondrej Lhotak | Faculty of Math | August 31, 2027 |
| Pengfei Li | Faculty of Math | August 31, 2027 |
| Jun Liu | Faculty of Math | August 31, 2028 |
| Brad Lushman | Faculty of Math | August 31, 2028 |
| Stan Woo | Faculty of Science | August 31, 2029 |
Elected - Undergraduate Students
| Name | Faculty | End of Term |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Chang | Faculty of Arts | August 31, 2028 |
| Muhammad Kanji | Faculty of Engineering | August 31, 2028 |
| Katherine Wang | Faculty of Environment | August 31, 2028 |
| Vacant | Faculty of Health | |
| Alex Lavalle | Faculty of Math | August 31, 2028 |
| Misha Khan | Faculty of Science | August 31, 2028 |
| Kenzy Soror | Student-at-large | August 31, 2028 |
| Arya Razmjoo | Student-at-large | August 31, 2027 |
Elected - Graduate Students
| Name | End of Term |
|---|---|
| Laith Alkhawaldeh | August 31, 2027 |
| Yasmeen Almomani | August 31, 2027 |
| Dean Eaton | August 31, 2028 |
| Geetam Saha | August 31, 2028 |
Elected - Alumni
| Name | End of Term |
|---|---|
| Jeff Bunn | August 31, 2028 |
| Vikas Gupta | August 31, 2027 |
| Cathy Newell Kelly | August 31, 2028 |
| Diana Vangelisti | August 31, 2027 |