The man who oversaw the overhaul of the Kwantlen Polytechnic University campus in Langley officially moved into the president's office he helped design Monday.
Dr. John McKendry takes over from Dr. David Atkinson who resigned to become president at Grant MacEwan University in his home town of Edmonton.
He will also have offices at the other Kwantlen college campuses in Surrey, Cloverdale and Richmond.
His appointment as acting president is temporary while the university searches for a full-time replacement for Atkinson.
Dr. McKendry was placed in charge of the Langley campus revitalization following the September 2008 re-designation of Kwantlen University College as Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
In 2010 McKendry was named Provost and Vice President, Academic, at Kwantlen.
A university bio states Mckendry obtained a BA with Honours and an MSc from the University of Guelph followed by a PhD from Florida State University.
He was director of policy, planning, research and legislation and, later, Assistant Deputy Minister of Universities in Saskatchewan.
Dr. McKendry’s has worked in the UK, Europe, Asia and the Middle East with organizations like the World Bank, CIDA and the Asian Development Bank.
He was an appointed representative of the Canadian Secretary of State to the Parliament of Europe.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University operates four Lower Mainland campuses that provide more than 135 programs for over 17,000 students every year.