UCalgary grads over the next four years will be shaking hands with a new person.
Rounding out the 2020s, the University of Calgary’s senate will be headed by Calgary-native and career lawyer, John Osler.
Osler, the 16th Chancellor-elect, was born and raised in Calgary, but did his post-secondary schooling in Ontario. Though he won’t officially be a Dino until his term begins on July 1, he said that representing his hometown university will be a great honour.
“This is a mix of gratitude and humility. I’m so very honoured to have been appointed to this role, I’m very excited about it. It’s a big role and I hope I can do justice to all of the terrific chancellors who have come before me,” he said.
“I grew up in University Heights and I know the university well. Growing up, most of our neighbours were on the faculty at the university. It was a very new university and to see how it has come of age, the role that plays, it’s really one of the great academic institutions in the world, and I am so immensely proud to be associated with it.”
The Chancellor is the University of Calgary’s most senior volunteer role, serving as an ambassador and champion of the university’s mission, values and long-term vision and having the power to grant degrees, according to a University-issued release.
Osler will be replacing current Chancellor, and former Calgary Stampeders player, Jon Cornish.
As Chancellor, and Chancellor-elect for now, Osler wants UCalgary students to understand their individual value and the value of their school.
“The Chancellor stands at the apex of the relationship the university has with its external stakeholders, the community, but also its internal stakeholders, which includes the students,” he said.
“I want to take the story of the university, the great institution that they (students) are attending, tell them about it and empower them as well, to take the story of their great university to wherever they go.”
The right guy for the job
After multiple months of interviews and confidentiality, Osler is thrilled his new position is finally public. During the interview process, Michael Bosdet, a Senator at the University of Calgary and co-chair of the Chancellor search committee, said that amongst a sea of candidates, Osler was different.
“His application did come in amongst many others and we had a wonderful crop of candidates this year and John is one that stood out. We wanted to bring him in and make sure that we met him as a committee,” Bosdet told LWC.
“It was his integrity and his humility and his very sincere desire to give back to the community that came across abundantly every time we had a chance to meet him. He was clear and articulate and he was inspiring.”
Because each Chancellor serves a set four year term, faculty knew to begin their search just under a year ago. The Chancellor search committee officially formed in the summer of 2025.
“Those meetings were mostly, ‘Let’s have some discussions amongst all the representatives from across the university. What do we want for the next Chancellor? What do we envision? What are those characteristics that are really going to make it the right fit for the university?’” Bosdet said.
“We spent the next several months defining exactly what it was that we were looking for in a chancellor, and then we worked very closely with a search agency to take those criteria and put that into action and do a broad search for the right candidate.”
Now, some months later, Osler said that he hasn’t asked for advice from previous Chancellors yet, largely due to the hush-hush hiring process, but will be keeping Cornish and other former Chancellors on speed dial.
