Dr. Helga Hallgrímsdóttir

About Helga Hallgrímsdóttir

Dr. Helga Hallgrímsdóttir was ratified by the UVic faculty as Deputy Provost in 2023, to serve a five-year term. 

The Deputy Provost is the senior-most role reporting to the Vice-President Academic and Provost. The Deputy Provost leads key strategic initiatives in the academic portfolio and works with other senior academic leaders to enhance and further the university’s academic mission.

Helga holds a faculty position as Professor in the School of Public Administration and has a successful track record of academic leadership and excellence in research and teaching. She was the President of the UVic Faculty Association from 2014–2019 and served as Acting Director of the School of Child and Youth Care. In addition to negotiating many positive changes to the faculty and librarian collective agreement in 2019, recognized through the CAUT Donald C. Savage Award, Helga has served as Vice-Chair of Senate and Chair of the Senate Committee on Awards. As the former Dean of Human and Social Development (HSD), Helga led the development of HSD’s first strategic plan, created an effective and transparent governance structure through a Faculty Council, led program expansions, and strengthened partnerships with the health and education sectors.

Helga holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Western Ontario and a BA in Music from the University of Calgary. She is an interdisciplinary researcher, whose research interests cross political and historical sociology, public policy, and health research. Her primary research focus is on questions concerning social and political inclusion in a range of settings. Her research has been funded by SSHRC, CIHR and the Erasmus Jean Monnet Program.

*Note: the Deputy Provost position was formerly the Vice-Provost position, with a title change approved on November 1, 2022.

Key initiatives & responsibilities

The Deputy Provost is responsible for faculty relations, academic administration, and strategic academic initiatives. Examples of strategic priorities and initiatives include:

• Accessibility
• Budget model review
• Equity, diversity and inclusion
• Faculty of Health and related academic health initiatives

Faculty Relations and Academic Administration

The Faculty Relations and Academic Administration (FRAA) team works collaboratively, on behalf of the university, to maintain positive relations with faculty and librarians through their representative (UVic Faculty Association), and through those who provide leadership and administration in academic units. FRAA is responsible for all faculty relations and academic administration matters at UVic.

FRAA provides support, advice, and administrative process to academic leaders and administrators in the following areas, pertaining to faculty and librarians:

• Collective Agreement interpretation and administration  
• Policy interpretation and administration
• Recruitment and retention
• Appointment and Reappointment processes
• Compensation and Benefits
• Leave requests and administration
• Tenure and promotion processes
• Work engagement and performance 
• Health and well-being, illness and accommodation
• Best human resources practices including, but not limited to: equity, diversity, human rights, privacy and due process (in collaboration with university partners)

In addition, FRAA is responsible for faculty/librarian Collective Agreement negotiation, policy development, and advice to leaders on human resources issues.

Select committee membership

• Deans' Council and Academic Leadership
• President's Leadership Council
• Integrated Planning
• University Senate (ex-officio, non-voting)
• Chair, Senate Committee on Academic Health Programming
• Chair, Budget Design Committee