Principal Emerita, The University of British Columbia
Kamloops, BC
Deborah Buszard, PhD, LLD, ICD.D, is an agricultural scientist with experience in senior leadership roles at three of Canada’s research universities. Most recently she served as Interim President of The University of British Columbia, prior to that she was Principal of UBC’s Okanagan Campus 2012-2020. Deborah is a passionate advocate for the role universities play in society: advancing knowledge, economic and social development, sustainability, social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.
She began her academic career at McGill University where she taught and led research in plant productivity and plant breeding, becoming Dean of the McGill Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in 1996. She joined Dalhousie University in 2006 as Director of Environmental programs and founder of the College of Sustainability.
Deborah completed her university education in the UK, as an undergraduate at the University of Bath and her Ph.D. at the Wye Campus of Imperial College, London.