Philip Steenkamp

Dr. Philip Steenkamp was appointed president and vice-chancellor of Royal Roads University June 18, 2018 and began his five-year term Jan. 1, 2019.

Steenkamp is a galvanizing leader with broad experience in the public service and the post-secondary sector.

He held the role of vice-president, external relations at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and at Simon Fraser University (SFU).

At UBC, his portfolio included government and corporate relations, community engagement, communications and marketing, campus and community planning, and involved extensive engagement with business, industry and the community. He also held responsibility for UBC’s downtown Robson Square campus and UBC’s Downtown Eastside Learning Exchange. With oversight of UBC campus lands, Steenkamp led a comprehensive range of municipal functions, including planning, design, zoning and permitting. As a member of the UBC Properties Trust Board, he has held responsibility for residential and commercial development on university lands which generated funds for the university endowment.

At SFU, he supported the launch of the university’s new vision and led strategies for internationalization, government relations, community engagement, social innovation, student-oriented entrepreneurship and knowledge mobilization.

His academic roles have included adjunct assistant professor at Queen’s University, research fellow at the University of Namibia and assistant professor and postdoctoral fellow in the Department of History at the University of Victoria, with a focus on African history.

Steenkamp has held senior leadership positions in multiple provincial ministries over a 17-year career in the public service. He held the office of deputy minister from 1997 to 2011, serving in a wide range of portfolios in British Columbia and Ontario.