Joanne Shoveller, Vice President,Office of Advancement, will retire from the University of Waterloo at the end of the year, completing her five-year term on Dec. 31, 2021.
“It is with sadness that I’m letting you know that Joanne Shoveller has informed me of her decision to retire from the University,” President Feridun Hamdullahpur wrote in a memo circulated to employees this week. “Due to personal circumstances, Joanne wants more flexibility to spend time with her family and pursue new professional interests,” Hamdullahpur continued.
Known for her empathetic, passionate, and steadfast leadership, Shoveller is valued and well respected. She will be making the most of the next ten months leading the Advancement strategy team.
Her role at the University of Waterloo has been- to create a culture of philanthropy at the institution, working with Alumni and donors to support faculties, departments, and their initiatives. Shoveller relishes working with the supportive community, as each individual contributes to how well UW can make a magnanimous and exciting impact.
UW’s Office of Advancement actively reaches out to, and works with, Waterloo’s alumni, friends, and community partners to engage them in conversations about the University’s bold vision for the future. Currently guided by the University’s strategy plan – available on the Office of Advancement Webpage on the UW Official Website – Shoveller is leading preparations for the launch of the largest fundraising campaign in UW history.
The Office of Advancement aims to share this message everywhere they go:
“Believe in the future of Waterloo. Believe that the Nobel Prizes, the breakthrough research discoveries, the upstart startups, are just the beginning of our story — and that the best is yet to come. Believe that a 60-year-old institution ,with fiercely loyal alumni and incredibly generous donors ,is capable of taking on global challenges — not just those of today or next year, but 10 and even 20 years from now — to shape a better future for everyone.”