SFU English welcomes new Chair Stephen Collis

Simon Fraser University’s Department of English welcomes Professor Stephen Collis as its new Chair. For 24 years, Professor Collis has taught contemporary poetics and creative writing in the department. He is also the author of more than a dozen books of poetry—the latest of which, The Middle, will be published this October. We look forward to his innovative and creative leadership in the years to come.

On behalf of SFU English, Professor Collis expresses his sincere appreciation for Professor Carolyn Lesjak’s years as Chair in the following statement:

On behalf of the Department of English, I want to thank Professor Carolyn Lesjak for five years of dedicated and inspired service as our Chair. Professor Lesjak guided us through the considerable challenges of the global pandemic and the sudden, mid-semester turn to online teaching, oversaw the hiring of three new faculty members—a crucial moment of renewal for a department that had not hired in over a decade—and stewarded the growth and flourishing of a number of our department endowments. She has been an ideal representative of the department, and a model of calm, steady, and open-minded leadership. SFU English is stronger today for having had her at the helm, and we thank her for her service.