Alaa Abd-El-Aziz
Alaa Abd-El-Aziz is a Canadian academic and former president of the University of [Prince Edward Island].
Early life
Abd-El-Aziz completed his bachelor's and master's at the Ain Shams University in 1985 and 1989 respectively. He completed a PhD at the University of Saskatchewan in 1989.Career
Abd-El-Aziz joined the University of Toronto as a lecturer in 1989. In 1990, he joined the University of Winnipeg as an assistant professor and became a full professor in 1997 and worked there till 2006.From 1991 to 2008, Abd-El-Aziz was an adjunct professor at the University of Manitoba. He was also an adjunct at the Université de Sherbrooke and the University of Winnipeg.
Abd-El-Aziz was the former Provost of the University of [British Columbia Okanagan]. From 2006 to 2011, he was the professor of chemistry at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.
University of Prince Edward Island
Alaa Abd-El-Aziz assumed the presidency of University of Prince Edward Island in July 2011 after being selected in November 2010.In 2013, university employees filed sexual harassment complaints against Abd-El-Aziz before the P.E.I. Human Rights Commission. According to Tom Cullen, then-chairman of UPEI's board of governors, it involved allegations of "inappropriate comments between colleagues". Later the same year, UPEI reached a settlement with the two complainants, with non-disclosure agreements signed by all parties involved.
Abd-El-Aziz's contract was renewed in 2015, 2018 and 2021. Atlantic Business Magazine declared him innovator of the year in 2020.
Abd-El-Aziz agreed to stay at the university until 2025 but resigned in December 2021 citing health reasons following a report by CBC News alleging that numerous non-disclosure agreements at UPEI had created "a culture of silence and fear" on campus and a toxic workplace Following Alaa Abd-El-Aziz's resignation, Greg Keefe was named Interim President and Vice-Chancellor on December 13, 2021.
Appointed by UPEI a few days after the resignation, law firm Rubin Thomlinson found 29 non-disclosure agreements were signed at UPEI in the decade Abd-El-Aziz was in charge.