Dr. Arig al Shaibah, MPA, PhD
Associate Vice-President, Equity & Inclusion
The University of British Columbia
Dr. Arig al Shaibah has broad and deep experiences advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in community and in higher education, where she has worked to action commitments to addressing systemic inequities, promoting intercultural dialogue, and fostering accessible, inclusive, and dignified learning and working spaces where campus community members can thrive.
Dr. al Shaibah has amassed nearly 15 years of experience working as a senior administrator in three Canadian research-intensive universities advancing accessibility, employment equity, and inclusive excellence goals. She served as McMaster University’s inaugural Associate Vice-President Equity & Inclusion, as Dalhousie University’s Vice-Provost Student Affairs and Interim Executive Director for the Human Rights & Equity Services, and as Queen’s University’s Assistant Dean Student Life and Learning as well as Assistant Dean Residence Life, Diversity, and Community Development.
Holding a PhD in Education (Cultural and Policy Studies) and a Master’s degree in Public Administration, Dr. al Shaibah describes herself as a scholar-practitioner. While in her administrative roles, she has held cross-disciplinary faculty appointments in Interdisciplinary Studies, Gender Studies, and Sociology Departments. She has taught courses on ‘Race’ and Racism, Feminist Pedagogy, and Diversity & Human Rights Inquiry, and she has been actively engaged in EDI-related research and scholarly activities, examining questions of how to effectively build individual and institutional capacity for equitable, inclusive and anti-racist leadership and organizational change in higher education.
Recently, Dr. al Shaibah’s EDI leadership was recognized with the 2021 Angela Hildyard Award in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion granted by the Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada.
As a member of the President’s and Provosts’ leadership teams, the AVPEI has a broad mandate to champion inclusive excellence and lead pan-institutional efforts to action UBC’s commitments to equity and antiracism priorities, as well as to promote and support university-wide capacity building for sustained systems change across both Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.