Upcoming leadership change for the VP Research & Innovation portfolio

After almost nine years in the role of Vice-President, Research & Innovation (VPRI) at UBC, Dr. Gail C. Murphy has let me know that she will be stepping down from her position, effective May 31, 2026. 

In this role, Gail has been critical in advancing the research and innovation agendas of the university across both campuses, and in articulating and promoting the university’s research and scholarly strengths, goals, and achievements to internal and external stakeholders.  

Under her leadership, Gail’s portfolio has expanded support for shared research platforms, including significant investments into digital research infrastructure for use by the UBC research community. Her team has also championed interdisciplinary and collaborative research through internal granting mechanisms, establishing the Grants for Catalyzing Research Excellence clusters as a leading program in the nation. These efforts have helped UBC researchers attract a record-breaking $936 million in funding last year, a 42% increase since Gail started as Vice-President, Research & Innovation.

Recently, she led the development of Innovation UBC, which provides enhanced services for sponsored research and entrepreneurship, to build upon the university’s strong track record in moving research to impact. Many joint efforts with Faculties on both campuses have also enabled increased support for public humanities and societal challenges, such as climate change.

We are grateful for Gail’s contributions and we will have many months to celebrate her many contributions and accomplishments.

We have retained Boyden Executive Search to support the recruitment of the next VPRI and we will be proceeding with committee nominations towards launching the search in the coming weeks to ensure a smooth transition.

Benoit-Antoine Bacon
President and Vice-Chancellor