Dr. Bill Owen steps up as Dr. Payne heads to new gig
If you’ve been at UNBC for more than a hot minute, chances are you’ve heard of Dr. Bill Owen. The longtime psychology professor has been a fixture on campus for over two decades, and now he’s trading research labs for the president’s office.
Dr. William (Bill) Owen officially became UNBC’s Interim President and Vice-Chancellor on October 4, stepping into the role as Dr. Geoff Payne wrapped up five and a half years as president to take on a new leadership position with Michael Smith Health Research BC.
Been Here Since Day (Well, 2002)
Dr. Owen isn’t some outsider parachuting in to run the show. The guy’s been at UNBC since 2002, back when he was a fresh-faced Assistant Professor setting up his cognitive psychology lab and building his now-iconic personal website (yes, it still exists: https://web.unbc.ca/~owenw/webpages/unbc/billunbc.htm). That’s right, Dr. Owen has his own corner of the UNBC web server, complete with early 2000s academic website vibes. If that doesn’t make him an OG, I don’t know what does.
Over 23 years, he’s taught everything from research methods and statistics to advanced cognitive psychology seminars. His research focuses on how we recognize words and process language, plus the scholarship of teaching and learning, basically, figuring out how our brains read stuff and how we actually learn things.
Not His First Rodeo
This isn’t Dr. Owen’s first time in the big chair. Most recently, he was Interim Provost and Vice-President Academic, where he spearheaded the development of the Ready Roadmap: Academic Plan 2025–2031, you know, that strategic document that’s supposed to guide UNBC’s future (and that you probably got an email about).
Before that, he’s held basically every VP and dean job you can think of: Vice-Provost Faculty Relations, Interim Dean of the College of Arts, Social and Health Sciences, and Vice-Provost Student Engagement. Dude’s been around the administrative block.
What’s the Plan?
Dr. Owen’s got an 18-month term to work with, and according to Board of Governors Chair Joel McKay, he’ll be focusing on four big things: fiscal management (aka money stuff), enrolment and student experience (aka keeping us happy and getting more of us here), operational effectiveness (aka making things actually work), and engagement (aka talking to people).
These aren’t just buzzwords, universities across Canada are dealing with budget crunches and enrolment challenges, and UNBC’s no exception. Dr. Owen’s deep knowledge of how this place actually works could be exactly what’s needed right now.
Meanwhile, the Search Begins
The Board of Governors will launch the search for UNBC’s next permanent President and Vice-Chancellor this fall. So if you’ve got opinions about what qualities UNBC’s next leader should have, now’s probably the time to make your voice heard through student government or other channels.
As for Dr. Payne? The board thanked him for his five and a half years of service, which included steering the ship through COVID-19 and developing UNBC’s current strategic plan. Not exactly an easy gig.
The Bottom Line
Look, leadership transitions at universities can be rocky. But having someone who’s been here since 2002, who actually knows the students, faculty, and staff, and who understands what makes UNBC tick? That’s probably the best-case sc—enario for an interim situation.
Plus, he’s a psychology professor. If anyone understands how to read the room and figure out what makes people tick, it’s probably him.
Welcome to the big office, Dr. Owen. Try not to miss the research lab too much. And hey, while you’re settling in, any chance you could greenlight that new student ID design we made? Just saying.
