The Provost and Vice-President, Academic Affairs holds an important position within the University, which makes him the highest ranking officer after the President. His portfolio encompasses all things academic, including programs and budgets, as well as everything that relates to university life for both students and professors.

Jacques Beauvais

“I'm committed to cultivating an innovative and dynamic environment where transparency and respect reign, an environment that encourages change and where we can grow together and surpass ourselves.”

Jacques Beauvais

— Provost and Vice-President, Academic Affairs

Mandate

Among his numerous responsibilities, the Provost is in charge of accomplishing, in collaboration with the faculties' deans, the following functions:

  • set the University's broad academic directions;
  • develop and regularly evaluate programs;
  • recruit and retain professors;
  • establish student-recruitment strategies.

The faculties, their schools, departments and programs, and the library network are overseen by the Provost. The same applies to the academic units and services designed to help students make the most of their university experience or to guide professors in their academic pursuits.

Biography

After graduating from the University of Ottawa with a bachelor’s degree (Physics, 1985) and a master’s degree (Physics, 1987), Jacques Beauvais obtained his Ph.D. in physics from Université Laval in 1990.

He was appointed as professor of electrical engineering at the Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS) in 1993. He established the first nanolithography laboratory in a Canadian university and led many centres and research institutes. Six patents arising from the research activities of his group were the basis of a startup company, Quantiscript inc., where he was president from 1999 to 2004, then vice-president, technology, from 2004 to 2006.

Since 2007, his research activities have focused mainly on developing carbon nanotube-based sensors which are at the core of a new patent (2015).

In 2007, Jacques Beauvais was named Vice-President, Research, at the Université de Sherbrooke and then Vice-president, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2014. At Sherbrooke, he was responsible for the concept development, the funding and the launch of the MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre (C2MI) in Bromont, Québec, in partnership with IBM Canada and Teledyne Dalsa.

As of July 1st, 2017, he became Dean of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Ottawa. He holds the position of Provost and Vice-President, Academic Affairs since January 16, 2024.

Team

The Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic Affairs’ team coordinates issues related to: planning, the academic experience, teaching, course and program evaluation, academic regulations including academic integrity, quality assurance, faculty awards and competitions, and much more. In collaboration with special advisors, the team works on a number of important strategic issues.

In addition to its core team, the Office of the Provost includes six administrative units, which are responsible for different portfolios:

Visit our Staff page  for a more detailed list of our employees, units, and services.