Dear members of the Brock community,

I’m writing to provide an update on the upcoming transition of leadership in the Human Rights and Equity (HRE) Office.

Over the past year, a review of the HRE Office has been conducted by Ken Chan, Vice-President, Administration. I appreciate the time that so many community members took to provide input for that review. While an executive summary of the review will be made public shortly, I am moving ahead now with one of the key recommendations: creating the position of the Associate Vice-President, Equity. This new role, which parallels similar roles at many other Canadian universities, will provide senior leadership in support of our strategic priorities around equity, diversity, inclusion, and human rights. This position will be posted shortly and a search committee will be formed.

To ensure continuity in leadership for HRE during the period of the search, I have appointed Brad Clarke as Interim Associate Vice-President, Equity, effective Monday, Jan. 9. In this role, Brad will report directly to me, while maintaining his reporting line to the Provost in his ongoing responsibilities as Associate Vice-President, Students. Brad will bring to his additional role his experience in senior administration and his passion for equity, diversity and inclusion as demonstrated, in part, by his long service as a Co-Chair of the President’s Advisory Committee on Human Rights, Equity and Decolonization (PACHRED). Please join me in congratulating Brad on this new position.

Chelsea Takalo, who has served as Interim Director since June 2022, will be continuing in her role. I am grateful to Chelsea for her excellent and indefatigable work since joining Brock last June.

With these two committed leaders in place, I am confident that the HRE Office will continue to provide support to the Brock community on matters related to equity, diversity and inclusion during this transitional period. I look forward to working with them and with the entire Brock community on these critical areas of institutional priority.

Sincerely,

Lesley Rigg

President and Vice-Chancellor