Ursula Gobel has been appointed as associate vice-president, future challenges, at SSHRC effective April 14, 2014.

In this role, Gobel will work closely in collaboration with the research community and partners across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors to advance the contributions of the social sciences and humanities to meet future, long-term societal challenges and opportunities.

Gobel brings 30 years of experience in leadership and management across public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Most recently in her role as director of communications at SSHRC, she has led numerous strategic initiatives to enhance engagement with internal and external stakeholders in support of SSHRC’s goal to build an enabling research and research training environment.

Gobel holds executive leadership training from Queen’s University, and as well as business and economics diplomas from Algonquin College and John Abbott College.