From a global pandemic to the advent of artificial intelligence, Jacques Frémont has weathered more than one unprecedented situation in his nine years as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Ottawa.
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From a global pandemic to the advent of artificial intelligence, Jacques Frémont has weathered more than one unprecedented situation in his nine years as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Ottawa.
Now, Frémont is ready to kick back for a long-awaited break when he leaves his post on the last day of June.
“I don't want to work for the next two-and-a-half months,” Frémont said in an interview this week. “I will do nothing, like a plant. And after that, I'll see. I will certainly keep busy.”
His successor, Marie-Eve Sylvestre, will be the first woman to hold the position since the university’s inception in 1849. Her five-year term is set to begin July 1.
But before she takes over, Frémont sat down with OBJ to look back on nearly a decade at the head of the university, while also looking ahead to how AI is shaping post-secondary education, the relationship between institutions and local businesses, and the impact of the pullback on international students.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.