Professor
Bill Flanagan
Chair
Professor
Bill Flanagan
Chair
Bill Flanagan became the 14th president and vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta in July 2020. Born and raised in Alberta, he has been recognized for his transformative and entrepreneurial leadership. President Flanagan launched the largest and most ambitious program of academic and administrative restructuring ever undertaken by a Canadian university. With a vision for the University of Alberta for Tomorrow (UAT), he set the goal of turning the university’s acute financial pressures into a strategic transformation, repositioning the U of A for long-term success.
With the creation of a new university-wide operating model, UAT dramatically enhanced the efficiency of administrative services by establishing shared service centres, introducing new technologies and reducing administrative costs by over $100 million annually. The establishment of three new colleges results in a more dynamic, agile and aligned academic structure.
As reflected in the university’s new strategic plan, Shape 2023-2033, the University of Alberta is now poised for ambitious enrolment growth and even greater research impact.
Prior to his appointment at the U of A, President Flanagan served as dean of law from 2005 to 2019 at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. Through his transformative vision during his tenure, he led major initiatives elevating the delivery of education in law: the establishment of the faculty’s PhD program; the founding of the Centre for Law in the Contemporary Workplace; a major expansion of the business law program; an online undergraduate Certificate in Law Program; an online Graduate Diploma in Legal Services Management, and a new online Graduate Diploma in Immigration and Citizenship Law.
Professor
Dawn Freshwater
Executive Director
Professor
Dawn Freshwater
Executive Director
Professor Freshwater took up the role of WUN Executive Director in February 2026.
She has worked in 3 world leading Universities, all of which have been members of WUN. Professor Freshwater served as Chair of the Partnership Board (2020-2022), plus two years as Vice-Chair, and hosted the WUN Annual General Meeting in 2018 during her tenure at the University of Western Australia. She also served as Chair, WUN Global Challenge Steering Group for Public Health and Understanding Cultures between 2014-2017 during her tenure as Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of Leeds. She has been an active member of the WUN Partnership Board since 2017, and a member of the Steering Group since 2020. With over 15 years of personal engagement with WUN she has a keen interest in the evolution of the network and its future strategy and focus.
Professor Freshwater is a globally recognized leader in Higher Education. She became the University of Auckland’s first female Vice-Chancellor in March 2020, after serving at the University of Western Australia as Vice-Chancellor and Chair of the Go8 in Australia. She has been Chair of the Asia Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Steering Committee, and Presidential Champion for the Asia Pacific Women in Leadership (APWiL), Deputy Chair of Research Australia, and Chair of Universities New Zealand Research Committee. Dawn has been elected to the Academia Europaea (MAE), is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland (FRCSI) and a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing (FRCN). She is listed in the top 2% of researchers in Stanford-Elsevier List 2024 in Public Health, Clinical Psychology and Nursing.
