Chancellor Nadir Patel

Laurier’s Current Chancellor: Nadir Patel

Nadir Patel (BA ’93) was officially installed as Wilfrid Laurier University’s 10th chancellor during a convocation ceremony on Oct. 17, 2024 at Lazaridis Hall in Waterloo.

An accomplished diplomat, strategic advisor and corporate director, Patel has held high-level government positions throughout a distinguished career in Canada’s public service. He is the former Canadian High Commissioner to India, overseeing Canada’s largest embassy abroad from 2014 to 2021; served as senior assistant deputy minister and chief financial officer with Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development; and as Canada’s consul general in Shanghai, China during Expo 2010.

Born in the UK, Patel's family immigrated to Canada in 1974, settling in Cambridge. Patel attended Galt Collegiate Institute and later attended Laurier, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1993. In addition to his degree from Laurier, Patel holds a joint MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and HEC Paris School of Management.

Patel currently serves as senior strategic advisor at global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP and is a managing director at Fairfax Financial Holdings. He possesses extensive governance experience, including roles as a member of the board of directors of Canadian Tire Corporation where he chairs the board’s audit committee, chair of the board of Jumpstart Charities, and member of the board of the Ottawa Hospital Foundation. He resides in Ottawa with his spouse, Jennifer, and two children, Nylah and Aydin.

Read more about Chancellor Nadir Patel.

Role of the Chancellor

The Wilfrid Laurier University Act, 1973, section 26 (l) states that “there shall be a Chancellor of the University who shall be appointed by the Board of Governors with the concurrence of the Senate and who shall hold office for four years and is eligible for reappointment for one additional term.”

The chancellor acts as the voluntary, ceremonial head of the university; presides over convocation and officially bestows all degrees and diplomas; and engages with internal and external stakeholders of Laurier to further the university’s mission. The chancellor is also ex officio a member of the Board of Governors and Senate, and serves on the Senate honorary degree committee and the Board development committee.