Alaa Abd-El-Aziz

Alaa Abd-El-Aziz is a Canadian academic and former president of the University of Prince Edward Island.[1]

Early life

Abd-El-Aziz completed his bachelor's and master's at the Ain Shams University in 1985 and 1989 respectively.[2] He completed a PhD at the University of Saskatchewan in 1989.[2]

Career

Abd-El-Aziz joined the University of Toronto as a lecturer in 1989.[2] In 1990, he joined the University of Winnipeg as an assistant professor and became a full professor in 1997 and worked there till 2006.[2]

From 1991 to 2008, Abd-El-Aziz was an adjunct professor at the University of Manitoba.[2] He was also an adjunct at the Université de Sherbrooke and the University of Winnipeg.[2]

Abd-El-Aziz was the former Provost of University of British Columbia (Okanagan Campus). From 2006 to 2011, he was the professor of chemistry at University of British Columbia (Okanagan Campus).[2]

University of Prince Edward Island

Alaa Abd-El-Aziz assumed the presidency of University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) in July 2011 after being selected in November 2010.[3]

Abd-El-Aziz oversaw a growing enrolment at UPEI, with the number of international students growing from 536 in 2012 to 1,400 from 90 countries in 2021, as well as the expansion of its nursing school and the creation of a faculty of medicine in partnership with Memorial University of Newfoundland.

In 2013, university employees filed sexual harassment complaints against Abd-El-Aziz before the P.E.I. Human Rights Commission. According to Tom Cullen, then-chairman of UPEI's board of governors, it involved allegations of "inappropriate comments between colleagues".[4] Later the same year, UPEI reached a settlement with the two complainants,[5] with non-disclosure agreements signed by all parties involved.[6]

Abd-El-Aziz's contract was renewed in 2015,[7] 2018 and 2021.[8] Atlantic Business Magazine declared him innovator of the year in 2020.[9]

Abd-El-Aziz agreed to stay at the university until 2025 but resigned in December 2021 citing health reasons following a report by CBC News alleging that numerous non-disclosure agreements at UPEI had created "a culture of silence and fear" on campus and a toxic workplace[10][11] Following Alaa Abd-El-Aziz's resignation, Greg Keefe was named Interim President and Vice-Chancellor on 13 December 2021.[12]

Appointed by UPEI a few days after the resignation,[13] law firm Rubin Thomlinson found 29 non-disclosure agreements were signed at UPEI in the decade Abd-El-Aziz was in charge.[6][8]

References
  1. "President of University of Prince Edward Island resigns amid misconduct allegations". thestar.com. 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  2. "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). University of Prince Edward Island. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  3. "UPEI names President-designate". Saltwire. 24 November 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  4. Ross, Ryan (24 January 2013). "Sexual harassment complaint filed against UPEI president". Saltwire. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  5. "UPEI settles sexual harassment complaints". CBC News. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  6. Ryan, Carolyn (15 June 2023). "UPEI vice-president placed on leave as faculty call for board resignations". CBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  7. Chang, Arturo (8 December 2021). "UPEI board of governors launches third-party review of new allegations involving ex-president". CBC news. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  8. Ryan, Carolyn (21 June 2013). "Chair of UPEI's board of governors resigns after critical report, saying new leadership needed". CBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  9. "Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz is our 2020 Innovator of the Year". Atlantic Business Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  10. Campbell, Kerry (3 December 2021). "Use of NDAs has created 'culture of silence and fear' on UPEI campus, former prof says". CBC News. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  11. Contributed. "LETTER: What happened to third party review of UPEI president? | SaltWire". www.saltwire.com. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  12. "University of Prince Edward Island appoints interim president, hires investigator". The Globe and Mail. 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  13. "Prominent Toronto lawyer to look into alleged UPEI workplace misconduct". ca.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
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