It is my pleasure to announce that the Board of Governors has approved the appointment of Professor Bhushan Gopaluni as Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Faculty Planning, for a five-year term commencing May 1, 2023.
The role of Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Faculty Planning, in which Bhushan has been serving in a pro tem capacity since May 2022, is responsible for the academic leadership of enrolment planning and management, stewardship of existing and new academic space and capital projects, and has an important role in the university budget planning. In issues of enrolment planning and management, the Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Faculty Planning works closely with the UBC Okanagan campus.
Bhushan joined UBC in 2006, and is currently Professor in the Faculty of Applied Science, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. He was the Associate Head for Chemical and Biological Engineering undergraduate programs between 2014-2017, following which he joined the Dean’s office as Associate Dean, Education and Professional Development. In that role, he oversaw the undergraduate admissions, academic services, Co-Op and graduate programs. He was instrumental in launching the Experiential Learning Hub and several other programs to improve the student experience. He is an associate faculty member of the Institute of Applied Mathematics, the Institute for Computing, Information and Cognitive Systems, BioProducts Institute and the Clean Energy Research Centre. Bhushan is one of the leading experts on data analytics for the process industry and has authored over 150 refereed articles in international journals and conference proceedings. He has received the Killam Teaching Prize, the Applied Science Dean’s service medal, and the D.G. Fisher Award in Process Control from the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering.
I wish to thank the members of the President’s Advisory Committee for their commitment and counsel throughout the search process.
I look forward to continuing to work with Bhushan, as he brings his extensive knowledge, skill and understanding to this role. Please join me in congratulating Bhushan on his appointment.
Gage Averill
Provost and Vice-President Academic, UBC Vancouver