Dr. Rosehart is currently the provost and vice-president academic at the University of Guelph and before that spent a decade as dean of engineering at the University of Calgary. He succeeds Vivek Goel, whose term ends in June.

Dr. Rosehart began his university studies at Waterloo in 1991 and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree, master’s and doctorate at the school, all in engineering. His academic expertise is in electrical energy and the integration of renewables into power systems. He is the author of more than a hundred peer-reviewed papers.

Murray Gamble, chair of the university board, described Dr. Rosehart as a leader with a people-centred approach who understands the Waterloo ethos.

Opinion: What is the value of higher education in Canada?

Dr. Rosehart paid tribute to what he described as the “bold idea” on which Waterloo was founded: “that integrating academics with real-world experience could redefine higher education and strengthen society.”

“That spirit of unconventional thinking remains its greatest strength,” he said. The university now has about 40,000 full and part-time undergraduate students and is a member of the U15 Canada group of large research institutions.

Dr. Rosehart’s father, Bob Rosehart, was also an engineer and a university president. He held the top job at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay from 1984 to 1997 and at Wilfrid Laurier University from 1997 to 2007.

This Q and A has been edited and condensed.

Q: You’re the first Waterloo alumnus to be named president. What’s it like to come back to an institution where you studied as an undergraduate?

I can tell you when the board and the senate were making their final deliberation it was very emotional for me. I didn’t realize how much it would it would hit me in that moment, but it was very special and I’m deeply honoured to be entrusted with this role.

I arrived in 1991 for the first of three degrees here at the university. Things have changed. There’s new facilities, new people. But that spirit, the willingness to do things differently, to innovate and focus on having an impact, is what I remember when I was here in the 1990s.

The University of Waterloo has grown enormously in just a few decades. Where do you think it can go?

Provincially, nationally and beyond, our job is to look at complex challenges and not just navigate through them, but look at opportunity within them. We know health systems need to change. The education and research that we do at the university will play a role in helping to advance our health systems provincially and nationally. In areas like AI and technology we’re really well positioned to not just think about the development of AI and other technologies but to think about these tools and opportunities in a very holistic way.

Has your dad passed on any lessons about university leadership?

That may have been a long conversation throughout the years. I’ve been really grateful to have many incredible mentors in my career. I believe it’s important to have courage and make decisions, but really to be people-focused and think about the community that we serve.

The University of Waterloo has a pretty significant structural deficit. How do you intend to address it?

It won’t necessarily surprise you that they didn’t go into great detail about that in the recruitment. The province did make a very significant announcement two weeks ago to increase funding that has certainly put Waterloo in a different position, but I don’t have all the details yet. The university also implemented a multiyear budget plan to move out of a structural deficit in a year or two. My understanding is that has been accelerated because of the announcement.

International students have been a major source of revenue at Waterloo, as everywhere in Canada. What proportion of Waterloo students do you think should come from abroad?

I’d like to step away from the financial piece for a moment and think about the value of having an opportunity to work with, and become friends with, students from across the country and around the world. That is extremely exciting. A lot of the institutions in the province that I think are finding the right balance tend to have, plus or minus, about 15-per-cent international students.

Canada is navigating a shifting international environment as a middle power. What opportunities and challenges do you see for Waterloo?

Five years from now how will you judge whether your term has been a success?

To me, it’s about broadening the student experience. Not just around expanding co-operative education, but really looking at the breadth of experiential learning opportunities for students to build more connection and impact in our community. And in particular to advance what the university is doing in interdisciplinary areas like health, society and technology futures.