After weeks of getting to know Brock informally, Lesley Rigg officially started as University President and Vice-Chancellor on Tuesday, Nov. 1.<\/p>\n
Rigg will spend the coming days meeting with a wide range of campus and Niagara community members as she formally transitions into her new role<\/a>.<\/p>\n A forest ecologist and biogeographer, Rigg previously served as Vice-President, Research at Western University and has more than 25 years of academic and research experience at institutions in Canada, the United States and Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is an absolute privilege to be joining Brock at this exciting and important time in its history,\u201d says Rigg. \u201cThe feeling of momentum here is palpable \u2014 from innovative advancements in teaching and learning to an ever-growing list of research breakthroughs, Brock is on a trajectory for continued success thanks to the talented, dedicated students, faculty and staff who make up this special community.\u201d<\/p>\n Rigg also noted the leadership of Provost Lynn Wells, who has served as Interim President since July 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cLynn has provided excellent leadership for this institution over the past 16 months, ensuring Brock was able to emerge from the pandemic ready to welcome the community back to campus,” she says. “I want to sincerely thank her for service, and I look forward to working with her as she continues her role as Provost and Vice-President, Academic.\u201d<\/p>\n Rigg now leads an institution long recognized for its commitment to student excellence and experience, and which continues to be ranked highly among its peers across Canada.<\/p>\n The University continued its climb in Maclean\u2019s<\/em> magazine\u2019s annual reputational rankings this year, move to 27th from 29th in the nation \u2014 an improvement of 11 spots in the past three years.<\/p>\n The Goodman School of Business also made the Top-20 rankings of Canada\u2019s best business programs for the first time at 18th in the country overall and 17th in reputation.<\/p>\n Brock\u2019s sports science programs are currently ranked among the\u00a0Top 100 in the world<\/a>, and earlier this year Brock scored high marks in a national report on research funding,\u00a0placing first among 21 universities<\/a>\u00a0in its category for corporate research income growth.<\/p>\n