Leonard Foster joined the succession of temporary deans for the faculty of graduate and post-doctoral studies on August 1. He begins a one-year term in which he will have to lead a faculty grappling with declining enrolment and at the core of UBC’s plans for the future.
The Ubyssey reached out to Foster for an interview to detail his appointment and plans for the faculty’s future but he declined due to scheduling issues and asked to respond to questions via email. Although The Ubyssey sent questions, UBC Media Relations claims the questions did not reach their desk on time. Instead, they answered with a statement Foster had written before the questions were sent.
Foster’s appointment follows Michael Hunt, Shannon Hagerman and Alison Lister’s terms as deans of the faculty, making him the fourth dean to serve pro tem since 2023. Dr. Susan Porter last offered the faculty stable leadership from 2011 to 2023. During her tenure, Porter introduced the Public Scholars Initiative — a program designed to re-envision the intersection of education and career development within doctoral programs — and saw an increase in the minimum funding awarded to PhD students.
Twenty per cent of the student body is affiliated with G+PS, and it plays a critical role in UBC’s research identity.
The federal government’s reduction in international student visas is one of the challenges Foster will be facing. The Senate’s most recent Annual Enrolment Report indicated that while undergraduate enrolment saw a 2 per cent uptake during the 2024/25 period, graduate enrolment declined by 14 per cent at the Vancouver campus. And despite a rise of eight per cent in the domestic application pool for graduate students, international students fell by 24 per cent.
The decline comes as priorities shift within UBC governance. Alongside the historic investment into St. John’s College — a residence for graduate students — and the recent increase to PhD minimum funding, UBC administration has highlighted several targets for strengthening the faculty, including improving recruitment efforts across the university.
Foster has been working at UBC since 2005. He brings a long record of research and leadership roles to the dean’s office. He currently serves as director of the Life Sciences Institute, one of Canada’s largest research institutes, and is the former department head of biochemistry and molecular biology.
He is also one of the two Vancouver faculty representatives on the Board of Governors, elected last fall.
Foster's appointment at G+PS will also make him vice-provost for a year, creating a complex governance dynamic. As vice-provost, he assists the provost and vice-president academic in managing the university’s academic strategy — working ultimately under President Benoit-Antoine Bacon on strategic planning, budgeting and determining the university’s goals.
But, as a governor, Foster is responsible for evaluating President Bacon, overseeing university management and handling business operations. Foster is a member of the board's Executive Committee, which reviews performance and compensation for university executives, including Bacon.
During his campaign for governor, Foster pledged to bring a research-centric perspective to Board of Governors meetings. In his statement to The Ubyssey, Foster wrote that his “top priorities will be to ensure the faculty supports graduate students and post-doctoral fellows as they pursue research excellence,” improving both community and student experience.
He also wrote that he wants to highlight how graduate and post-doctoral success has influenced the university’s global rankings. He hopes “this recognition will lead to more support for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, not just financial[ly] but experiential[ly], including research opportunities and professional development.”
On this year’s initiative to raise PhD minimum annual funding to $40,000, Foster wrote he intends to “ensure systems are in place” for its implementation. Under his leadership, he stated, “the faculty will continue to help address the gap between current research funding and the minimum stipends,” aiming to support students through the rising cost of living despite budget constraints.
Beyond research, the faculty will play a core role in UBC’s long-term development plan, Campus Vision 2050, a key priority of which is the development of St. John’s College, the most ambitious housing project in the university’s history with a price tag of over $560 million.
Foster’s team is “re-envisioning the role the faculty of graduate and post-doctoral studies plays in relation to graduate programs in other faculties … an ongoing process [that] will be led by the Provost and the President’s office.”
If prioritizing graduate students aims to strengthen UBC’s community, the stability of leadership within Foster’s faculty will be central to achieving these long-term goals. Leonard Foster’s appointment as dean and vice-provost is more than just a shift in leadership.
Leonard Foster’s appointment could signal the steps that university leadership is taking into the future. How he decides to utilize his leadership roles as faculty, vice-provost and governor will indicate what students can expect for the future of UBC.
