“I am deeply honoured to lead CAGS in our collective mission to champion innovation, inclusivity, and excellence in graduate education across Canada, fostering a culture of knowledge creation that serves the public good.” – Dr. Fahim Quadir, CAGS President

The Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) is pleased to announce the election of Dr. Fahim Quadir as President for a two-year term. The decision was made by a unanimous vote held at the 62nd CAGS Annual General Meeting on Thursday, 31 October 2024 in Toronto. Dr. Quadir takes on the role of President from M. Philippe-Edwin Bélanger, Director of Graduate Studies and Student Success and of the International Office at l’Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS). Philippe-Edwin will remain on the board of directors for a two-year term as Past President.

Fahim Quadir has served as Vice-Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs at Queen’s University since July 2018, where he has developed a track record of embracing innovative thinking to foster a welcoming and supportive campus culture for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Dr. Quadir is a strong advocate for the principles and practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion, and has dedicated his work at Queen’s to advance a new vision of graduate education that values connectivity, community engagement, and critical thinking based on empathy and respect for all.

Prior to joining Queen’s University, Dr. Quadir served as Interim Dean and Associate Vice-President Graduate in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at York University, where he was a Professor of Development Studies. He served as Associate Dean in the Faculty of Graduate Studies from 2013-2017. He is the founding director of York University’s Graduate Program in Development Studies and its undergraduate program in International Development Studies. Previously, he held academic positions at St. Lawrence University in New York, Queen’s University at Kingston and the University of Chittagong in Bangladesh. He also taught at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Professor Quadir specializes in international political economy and global development, with a particular focus on cosmopolitan citizenship, South-South cooperation, emerging donors, aid effectiveness, good governance, civil society, and democratic consolidation. He has edited/co-edited five books and published extensively in various international peer reviewed journals. Dr. Quadir was the recipient of several SSHRC grants, the Fulbright Scholarship, SSHRC and Killam Postdoctoral Fellowships, Killam Memorial Scholarship, and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC, USA) Dissertation and Pre-Dissertation Fellowships. He has supervised numerous graduate students, and both designed and taught a large number of graduate and undergraduate courses. In 2007, he was awarded a University-Wide Teaching Award for teaching excellence from York University. Dr. Quadir brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his role as President of CAGS, and we look forward to setting a course together over the next two years.

The 62nd CAGS Annual General Meeting also featured the election of two new members to the CAGS board of directors. Dr. Kelley Main, Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Manitoba, will undertake a two-year term as director. M. Francis Bourgoin, a PhD student in the Faculty of Education Sciences at l’Université de Moncton, will undertake a two-year term as director representing graduate students. On the Executive Committee, Dr. Effrosyni Diamantoudi, Dean of Graduate Studies at Concordia University, was appointed the CAGS Treasurer for a two-year term, and Dr. Adam Sarty, Associate Vice-President Research and Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at Saint Mary’s University, was elected to the position of CAGS Vice-President and President-Elect. CAGS and its members express their gratitude and best wishes to Dr. Josée Bastien, Université Laval, and Dr. Karine Awashish, Université Laval, both of whom concluded their terms as directors.

The CAGS board of directors extends a warm welcome to these new appointments and looks forward to working together in pursuit of our shared mission and vision.