DR. MAX BLOUW is the incoming president and vice-chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University (effective September 2007). In his role, Dr. Blouw will draw on his well-regarded leadership, and administrative and academic skills to build on the university's recent successes and guide its strategic growth as Laurier approaches and celebrates its centenary in 2011. Prior to joining Laurier, Dr. Blouw was a key figure at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), where he developed significant university initiatives. He arrived at UNBC in 1995 as a professor of biology, and two years later joined the university's administration as the associate vice-president and dean of graduate studies. In 2000, Dr. Blouw was named to his most recent role as the vice-president of research. Under his leadership, UNBC has become one of the most research-intensive small universities in Canada. He was also instrumental in growing UNBC's endowment to an impressive $40 million. His research interests include evolutionary ecology and genetics, fish-forestry interactions and ecological genetics. Dr. Blouw is well-known on the national scene, and enriches his academic career through volunteer roles that link universities, governments and society. He has long-standing involvement with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), acting as an executive council member and chair of its prestigious award-selection committees and committee on grants and scholarships. He served two terms as chair of the University Advisory Group to Industry Canada and recently was a member of an adjudication panel for the Ontario Premier's Discovery Awards, which recognize excellence among the finest senior researchers in Ontario. Dr. Blouw received the 2005 Science and Technology Champion Award from the BC Innovation Council. He was appointed to the Board of that Council as well as to the Board of Genome BC in 2006. Born in Holland, Dr. Blouw moved to Canada in 1957 and became a Canadian citizen in 1963. He holds bachelor and master of science degrees in zoology from the University of Manitoba (1972 and 1977 respectively) and a PhD in biology from the University of New Brunswick (1982). Dr. Blouw and his wife Lynn have two sons, Carl and Peter.