Jean-Paul Boudreau appointed special advisor and executive lead of social innovation
I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Jean-Paul Boudreau, Faculty of Arts, as the inaugural special advisor and executive lead, social innovation for Ryerson University. The appointment began August 1, 2016.
As special advisor and executive lead of social innovation, Jean-Paul will provide leadership in building a cohesive vision for social innovation at the university, by integrating academic and experiential models, developing engagement strategies, advancing academic and research networks, and expanding social innovation funding.
Social innovations are new concepts, ideas, and practices that address unmet societal needs and improve people’s lives through social action. Social innovators are adaptive thinkers who take risks and are attuned to relations between individuals and groups; they also help them learn to become the leaders of tomorrow. Social enterprise development is an integral part of today’s forward-thinking university, and Jean-Paul is the ideal candidate to proliferate this impact-driven mentality across campus.
Former dean of the Faculty of Arts, Jean-Paul was committed to academic excellence, working with 10 diverse departments across the humanities and social sciences. During his tenure as Dean, he worked to increase external research funds by 172 per cent and recruited high-profile, tenure-track faculty members from around the world. With a growing reputation for excellence, the faculty experienced enrolment growths of 75 per cent and 37 per cent at the undergraduate and graduate levels, respectively. A proponent of the academic plan, Jean-Paul helped launch the SocialVentures Zone and arranged for Ryerson to host Canada’s largest academic gathering, Congress 2017 from May 27 to June 2.
On behalf of President Mohamed Lachemi and myself, I would like to congratulate Jean-Paul on his appointment.
Chris Evans
Interim Provost and Vice President Academic