Since the news broke yesterday afternoon that I will be leaving Dalhousie at the end of this year, I have been moved by the thoughtful messages of support and congratulations I have received. I wanted to take this moment to relay my gratitude to the entire Dalhousie community, and also to explain how and why this all came about.
The decision to leave Dalhousie at this point in my life and career was truly unexpected and comes with a great deal of emotion. I had planned to be part of this amazing university for some time to come — at the very least, through until the completion of my term, and hopefully beyond. So this was not something I had contemplated or deliberately sought out, but rather came about from a confluence of opportunities. First was that personal reasons for needing to be closer to my family had grown significantly over the past year. Second was the incredible respect and appreciation I have for McGill and what it has contributed to this country and to the world. And finally, the chance to return to Montreal — the city where my wife Rani and I raised our daughters and called home for close to 20 years.
Rani and I agreed that the opportunity to be closer to family was not to be ignored — but my love of Dalhousie and its people made this one of the more difficult decisions of my career. We have had an amazing journey together these past three years. Although the pandemic presented some of the greatest challenges in the modern history of this institution, we came through it with impressive results (in enrolment, research funding, fundraising and more) and renewed purpose in our mission. This was only possible because of the unwavering dedication of our people. This exceptional constellation of students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters is poised to accomplish truly great things in the next few years, and I am sad I won’t get to be an active part of it. At the same time, I know Dalhousie is so much bigger than its president. While I am proud of what we have accomplished during my time here, I am prouder that there is an entire institution of committed, inspiring people who will ensure Dalhousie continues its ascension into the ranks of the world’s most esteemed and impactful universities.
I am sure there will be more I’ll want to say before we finish our time together. For today, let me once again thank everyone for your kind words of support. I will always consider myself immensely proud to be associated with Dalhousie, and I am heartened to think of how the journeys of two of Canada’s greatest universities might continue to intersect in the years ahead — strengthening research and education in this country, together.
Sincerely
Deep Saini
President and Vice Chancellor