Launching the search for the founding dean of the medical school at SFU

Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to let you know that SFU will be starting the search for the founding dean of the SFU Medical School (SFUMS). As you may be aware, the SFUMS is in an important planning phase, and following government funding commitments and Senate and Board approval, the school will plan to admit its first students for September 2026.

As with all our dean searches, the university will follow policy A13.05 for the search for the SFUMS founding dean. We are starting the recruitment process now as we anticipate that it may take up to a year to fill the role. There is much work to be done to meet accreditation requirements as - unlike many professional programs - medical schools must achieve accreditation in advance of the first cohort.

In accordance with policy A13.05, we are forming a search committee, which will include elected faculty and staff members. The Faculties of Health Sciences and Science will each have a faculty member elected, with the other two faculty members elected from the remaining Faculties, with no Faculty having more than one member. A staff member will be elected by staff jointly from the Faculties. Faculty and staff members in these areas will be receiving an email from the Senate Office outlining how to stand for election to the search committee.

There will be an open forum for all faculty, staff and students in the early fall to gather feedback on the SFUMS founding dean role profile and on the qualities needed for the incoming founding dean. There will also be an online survey. We will share more details about how to participate in this consultation in due course. I encourage everyone to participate in the consultation process.

In the meantime, please see the Provost and VPA website for more information including the timeline for the search and the draft position description and candidate profile.

Yours truly,

Wade Parkhouse
Provost and Vice-President Academic, pro tem