Dr. Brian Stevenson
President and Vice-Chancellor
Dr. Brian Stevenson was President & Vice-Chancellor of Lakehead University for seven and a half years between 2010 and 2017.
As President at Lakehead, Dr. Stevenson led the University through an intense period of growth, internationalization and a greatly enhanced national and global profile. Among his numerous deliverables were the founding of the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law, increasing the international student population from 100 to nearly 1,300, more than doubling of the graduate student population and increasing the student population at the Orillia campus by 30%.
During Dr. Stevenson’s tenure, Lakehead University experienced growth and expansion of infrastructure and programming, including major renovations, acquisitions and new construction totaling nearly $80 million dollars, as well as an increase in indigenous initiatives, and education and access programs. On the latter, Lakehead became the first University in Canada to implement a cross-curricular Indigenous Content Requirement, the first to appoint a Chair on Truth & Reconciliation, and increased the aboriginal student population to approximately 12%.
Lakehead’s research capacity and recognition improved under Dr. Stevenson’s presidency, with research income increasing by more than 26% and the University being named Canada’s number one research University in its category three years in a row.
Prior to taking the helm at Lakehead, Dr. Stevenson served the University of Winnipeg as Provost and Vice-President (Academic) from 2006 to 2010, where he was also a professor in the Faculty of Business and Economics. During his tenure at the University of Winnipeg, he was involved in a significant re-invention and renewal of many aspects of the University, including the establishment of a new Faculty of Business and Economics, a new Academic Plan, new graduate programs, the promotion of internationalization, and the design and implementation of a comprehensive enrolment strategy.
Throughout his career, Dr. Stevenson has built a record of leadership in academia and government, in addition to holding senior positions at various Canadian universities, the federal government in Ottawa and in an international organization.
Dr. Stevenson began his career at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City and founded the Canadian studies program there and later accepted an appointment as Imperial Oil/Royal Bank visiting Associate Professor of International Business at the University of Alberta School of Business. He then served as senior policy advisor to the Canadian Ministers of International Trade and Foreign Affairs in Ottawa before returning to the University of Alberta as Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President (International) and associate professor at the School of Business.
In 2005-06, Dr. Stevenson was Interim Executive Secretary for Integral Development and Interim Director General for the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development at the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington. He was also a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars.
Recognized as a specialist in international relations and foreign policy, Dr. Stevenson has authored and/or co-edited a number of books and articles on Canadian politics, foreign policy, Canada-Mexico relations, Canadian security in Latin America, and the relationship between the Organization of American States and Canada. He has authored and presented dozens of conference papers in Canada, the United States, and Latin America.
Dr. Stevenson holds BA (Honours) and MA from the University of Victoria in British Columbia, and a doctorate from Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario.
In 2018, Dr. Stevenson began focusing on his role as a professor in the Faculty of Business Administration at Lakehead University where he conducts research on the politics of NAFTA. He is a visiting scholar at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University, as well as a visiting scholar at the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies in the School of Global Policy Studies at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
Président et Vice-Chancelier
Université Lakehead
Dr. Brian Stevenson est le Président et Vice-Chancelier de l'Université Lakehead depuis août 2010.
Avant d’assumer son rôle à Lakehead, il a servi l'Université de Winnipeg en tant que Prévôt et Vice-Président (Académique) de 2006 à 2010, où il a également été professeur dans la Faculté d’Affaires et de l'Économie. Au cours de son mandat à UWinnipeg, Dr. Stevenson a participé à une réinvention et la renaissance de nombreux aspects de l'Université, notamment la création d'une nouvelle Faculté d'Économie et d'Affaires, un nouveau plan universitaire, de nouveaux programmes d'études supérieures, l'internationalisation, et une nouvelle stratégie d'inscription.
Tout au long de sa carrière, Dr. Stevenson a construit un record de leadership dans le milieu universitaire et le gouvernement; il a occupé des postes de direction dans un certain nombre d'organisations et d'universités prestigieuses, dont le gouvernement fédéral à Ottawa, l'Université de l'Alberta, et l'Organisation des États Américains à Washington. Pendant son séjour à l'Université de l'Alberta, il a promu le profil de l'institution à travers le monde. En seulement cinq ans, il a joué un rôle déterminant dans l'augmentation des inscriptions internationales et il a également été responsable de l'établissement d'une résidence internationale.
Dr. Stevenson a obtenu son baccalauréat spécialisé (BA) et sa maîtrise de l'Université de Victoria. Il est titulaire d'un doctorat de l'Université Queen's. Il a d'abord enseigné à l'Institut Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), puis à l'Université de l'Alberta où il a également été Vice-Recteur et Vice-Président Associé. Il a ensuite occupé le poste de Conseiller Principal en politiques auprès des ministres canadiens du Commerce International et des Affaires Étrangères et a été chercheur en politiques publiques au Woodrow Wilson Centre for International Scholars.
Reconnu comme spécialiste des relations internationales et de la politique étrangère, Dr. Stevenson a rédigé et/ou coédité un certain nombre de livres et articles sur la politique canadienne, la politique étrangère, les relations entre le Canada et le Mexique, la sécurité canadienne en Amérique latine, et la relation entre L'Organisation des États américains et le Canada. Il a rédigé et présenté des dizaines de conférences au Canada, aux États-Unis, et en Amérique latine. Il a également fait des contributions en tant que membre du conseil d'administration du Conseil canadien pour les Amériques et de la Fondation canadienne pour les Amériques.
En plus d'être professeur à la Faculté d'administration des affaires de l'Université Lakehead, Dr. Stevenson est membre du Comité de rédaction des Affaires étrangères (Latino américa).