Dr. Benoit-Antoine Bacon started his mandate as President and Vice-Chancellor of Carleton University on July 1, 2018, and he was recently renewed for a second five-year term. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Universities Canada and on the Executive Committee of the Council of Ontario Universities.
He joined Carleton from Queen’s University where he served as Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic). He previously served as Provost and Vice-President (Academic Affairs) at Concordia University in his hometown of Montreal where he was recognized with an award as Concordia University’s Sustainability Champion.
His first academic appointment was at Bishop’s University, where he served in a number of leadership roles including Dean of Arts and Science, Associate Vice-Principal for Research, chair of the psychology department and chief negotiator for the association of professors of Bishop’s University. He is a three-time recipient of Bishop’s Merit Award for exceptional performance in teaching and research.
Dr. Bacon holds a PhD in neuropsychology from the University of Montreal, after which he undertook an NSERC-funded post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. His research in the field of cognitive neuroscience focuses on the links between brain activity and perception in the visual, auditory and vestibular systems, as well as on multisensory integration.
Sharing his own lived experience, he advocates for open conversations about mental health and substance use. These efforts have been recognized with a Transformational Leader Inspiration Award from the Royal Ottawa Hospital, and the Honorary Presidency of the Canadian Psychological Association.