Laurier appoints Jonathan Newman to role of Vice President: Research

March 18, 2019
For Immediate Release

Waterloo – Wilfrid Laurier University has appointed biologist Jonathan Newman as the university’s vice-president: research, effective August 1, 2019. As the vice-president: research at Laurier, Newman will lead the Office of Research Services, providing vision, strategy and support for Laurier’s overall research endeavours.

Newman has served as the dean of the College of Biological Science at the University of Guelph since 2015, where he developed the faculty’s first strategic plan. Newman began his tenure at the University of Guelph in 2004, where he held several administrative roles including the chair of the Department of Environmental Biology and the founding director of the School of Environmental Science.

Prior to the University of Guelph, Newman served as a faculty member in the Zoology Department at the University of Oxford and a fellow of St. Peter’s College, as well as a faculty member in the Department of Zoology at Southern Illinois University.

“Laurier prides itself on building knowledge that serves society and conducting research with a global impact. We are extremely pleased to welcome Dr. Newman to Laurier to further our research efforts,” said Deborah MacLatchy, president and vice-chancellor. “Dr. Newman is a leading expert in his fields of grassland ecology, climate change biology and environmental ethics and has proven academic leadership skills that will be important in supporting the university’s strategic research growth."

Newman holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a doctorate in Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour from State University of New York at Albany. He also holds a graduate diploma in learning and teaching in higher education from the University of Oxford.

Newman has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and three books and supervised more than 30 graduate students. He was an associate editor at the Journal of Ecology and the Journal of Animal Ecology, and has received many awards and honours, including being named a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology in London, UK.

Among his leadership roles, he is the current chair of the Board of Directors at the Art Gallery of Guelph, and a former board member at the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario and an academic colleague to the Council of Ontario Universities.

“I’m very excited to be given this opportunity to serve Laurier’s community of scholars and I look forward to working with the dedicated staff of the Office of Research Services to support Laurier’s important scholarship,” said Newman. “These are exciting and challenging times for university research, in the province, the country, and on the world stage. I am looking forward to doing my part to help the university navigate this terrain, continue its outstanding work in the creation and transmission of knowledge, and to grow its research enterprise.”

On August 1, Newman will succeed Jeffery Jones, psychology professor and director of the Laurier Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, who has been serving as Laurier’s interim associate vice-president: research, since July 1, 2018.

“I am grateful to Jeffery for his leadership and contributions during his term as interim associate vice-president: research,” said MacLatchy. “His work with our community to support Laurier’s growing research emphasis, while continuing his own research work and student mentorship, was very much appreciated.”

In addition to his five-year appointment as vice-president: research, Newman will hold a faculty position in the Department of Biology.