Christian Blanchette

Universities Canada board director

Biography

Christian Blanchette took office as the ninth rector of Université du Québec à Trois Rivières (UQTR) on December 1, 2020. Prior to his appointment, he had been the dean of the faculty of continuing education at the Université de Montréal since 2011.

Having obtained his PhD in physics from York University in 1994 and with a background as an environmental specialist, Mr. Blanchette began his career in teaching before turning to research on the impact of the Internet and learning technologies on higher education.

With an academic career spanning almost thirty years, he has taken a keen interest in issues relating to digital transformation in an academic context and the evolution of education in the context of lifelong learning, as well as emerging issues in higher education.

Throughout his career, he has had various management responsibilities in academic and research roles, in student programs and student experience, and in organizational and community development.

For example, he established and managed the University of Ottawa teaching and learning support service (1999–2008), as well as the Institute for the Advancement of Teaching in Higher Education (2004–2008). He also served as associate dean, interdisciplinary studies and international affairs in the faculty of graduate and postdoctoral studies at the University of Ottawa (2008–2011).

Christian Blanchette has served as a member of numerous committees. For almost ten years, he was active in Quebec’s high council of education, the Conseil supérieur de l’éducation, where he chaired the Commission de l’éducation des adultes et de la formation continue (adult education and continuing education commission) from 2014 to 2021. While there, he worked on issues relating to popular education, as well as the impact of education on the integration of immigrants and refugees in Quebec.

Universities Canada