Rob Gordon's Farewell

July 4, 2019

Thank you everyone for attending.

We are here to celebrate Rob and wish him well as he embarks on the next step of his professional journey.

Rob joined Laurier in 2015 as vice-president: research and oversaw Laurier’s rapidly growing research areas.

Under his leadership, Laurier saw a 23 per cent increase in total new research funding, which was the second-fastest relative growth of any university in Canada.

Rob also chaired Laurier’s Task Force on Freedom of Expression.

In July 2018, Rob was appointed provost and vice-president: academic and over the last year has led the university in implementing the priorities outlined in Laurier’s Strategic Academic Plan.

He has played a significant role in the development of the Laurier Strategy: 2019-2024.

And he co-led the development of the 2019-2020 budget and laid the groundwork for our multi-year budget plans.

I asked those who have worked closely with Rob to share what are the best things about working with him.

A few comments that surfaced:

He has an incredible level of energy.

He is consistently positive, constructive and optimistic.

He asks great questions that get to the heart of an issue.

He’s down to earth and casual.

And finally, his ability to expand the sartorial range of the plaid shirt – including combining it with sports jerseys!