Andrew Petter is President Emeritus of Simon Fraser University and Professor Emeritus in its School of Public Policy. He was Board Chair of Innovate BC from 2021 to 2024 and currently practices law with Arvay Finlay LLP.
Prior to joining SFU, Andrew was a professor in the University of Victoria Faculty of Law where he served as dean from 2001 to 2008. From 1991 to 2001, he was an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia and held numerous cabinet portfolios, including Aboriginal Affairs, Intergovernmental Relations, Advanced Education and Attorney General.
As SFU President from 2010 to 2020, Andrew oversaw the development and implementation of a strategic vision that distinguished SFU as Canada’s “engaged university defined by its dynamic integration of innovative education, cutting edge research and far-reaching community engagement.” Under his leadership, SFU was named Canada’s top comprehensive university for nine of ten years in Maclean’s Rankings, and was rated first in the world for its impact on sustainable cities and communities in the 2020 Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings.
Andrew was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2019 and Order of B.C. in 2021 in recognition of his contributions to public policy and his leadership in advancing university-community engagement and higher education in Canada. In 2018 he was named recipient of Public Policy Forum’s Peter Lougheed Award for leadership in public policy.