UBCBulletin Updates for leadership

Dr. Melanie Stewart appointed UBC’s new Vice-President, External Relations

This message was sent to executive, deans and other senior academic leaders, academic heads, directors and managers, and senior professional leaders in Vancouver and the Okanagan.

June 28, 2024

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Melanie Stewart has been appointed as UBC’s new Vice-President, External Relations, effective September 1, 2024.

Dr. Stewart currently holds the position of Associate Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education and Child Care, in the BC Provincial Government. She brings 17 years’ experience in the BC Public Service and has been a member of the corporate executive since 2011.

During this time she has held senior positions in the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, the Ministry of Children and Family Development, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, the Public Service Agency, the Gender Equity Office (Ministry of Finance), and the Ministry of Education and Child Care.

Prior to joining the public service, Dr. Stewart taught political science and communications at York University in Toronto as well as the University of Victoria and Royal Roads University. She holds a PhD in Political Science from York University and a BA in Political Science from the University of Victoria.

As a member of the UBC Executive, the Vice-President, External Relations, is responsible for providing strategic leadership for the university's relationship with all levels of government, communications functions, broad-based engagement with external communities and campus planning functions to accomplish the vision, commitments, goals and actions as set out in UBC’s strategic plan.

I would like to thank the members of the Advisory Search Committee for their work and assistance in this important search process.

Let me also take this opportunity to thank Robin Ciceri, for her outstanding service over the past six years, and for her counsel and support during my transition to UBC. Robin remains in her position until August 31, 2024 and will help ensure a smooth leadership transition.

Please join me in thanking Robin for her leadership and in welcoming Melanie to her new role.

Benoit-Antoine Bacon
President and Vice-Chancellor


UBC Bulletin is used to inform and engage leadership at the university. Learn more

Find the latest news, updates, events, and useful dates from across UBC, curated for faculty and staff by Internal Communications.
Access a library of resources from multiple UBC websites, all in one place.

UBC Crest The official logo of the University of British Columbia. Urgent Message An exclamation mark in a speech bubble. Arrow An arrow indicating direction. Arrow in Circle An arrow indicating direction. Caret An arrowhead indicating direction. Time A clock. Chats Two speech clouds. Facebook The logo for the Facebook social media service. Feedback Dots inside a speech bubble, indicating discussion. Information The letter 'i' in a circle. Instagram The logo for the Instagram social media service. Lightbulb A lightbulb inside a circle. Linkedin The logo for the LinkedIn social media service. Location Pin A map location pin. Mail An envelope. Menu Three horizontal lines indicating a menu. Minus A minus sign. Parking The letter 'P' inside a circle. Telephone An antique telephone. Play A media play button. Plus A plus symbol indicating more or the ability to add. Search A magnifying glass. Submit content An inbox filled with paper. Team A group of people inside a circle. Twitter The logo for the Twitter social media service.