Message from the Vice-President, Academic and Research: John Bragg Chair in Entrepreneurship

The following message has been distributed by UPEI Communications to faculty and staff on behalf of the Office of the Vice-President Academic and Research.

The Catherine Callbeck Centre for Entrepreneurship at UPEI provides exceptional learning opportunities for student entrepreneurs at UPEI. It coordinates student entrepreneurship activities across faculties; provides spaces for collaboration between students and mentors; and develops new experiential learning opportunities.

The Centre was supported by gifts and funding from supporting organizations and agencies, including a $2.25M contribution from the River Philip Foundation, led by John Bragg. As part of this initiative, a new John Bragg Chair in Entrepreneurship will be established to support the mandate and vision of the Centre.

Overview of the Chair Program

The Chair will conduct research in the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation, particularly in the context of PEI’s ecosystem, and provide leadership and mentorship of student activities at the Catherine Callbeck Centre. They will also provide input to the Centre’s strategic direction.

The development of a model that maps and tracks the health of the PEI entrepreneurship ecosystem can lead to better targeting of services in areas of identified gaps. For example, the use of metrics to characterize the health of the PEI entrepreneurial ecosystem at each stage of the “entrepreneurship funnel” will identify barriers in the system and areas of improvement. These results can then be incorporated into student activities in the Catherine Callbeck Centre.

Terms of Appointment

The chairholder will receive a research grant of $40,000 per year over a three-year duration of the Chair appointment. The grant funds may be used for research-related expenditures which are deemed eligible under Tri-Agency guidelines on financial administration. If the Faculty Member or Librarian wishes to use the grant to fund release from their teaching responsibilities, upon the Faculty Member’s request, a portion of the grant funds can be used to directly fund a stipend to backfill a teaching release.

Selection Process

Selection of the John Bragg Chair in Entrepreneurship is made by an Internal Research Chair Selection Committee (IRCSC). The IRCSC consists of eight Faculty Members and Librarians, including the VP, Academic and Research (or designate), as Chair. The IRCSC determines its own procedures for evaluating applications and making determinations regarding the selected candidate(s).

Interested applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, letter of interest, and brief one-page summary of their proposed research program, to the Manager of Entrepreneurship, Amy Andrews, at abandrews@upei.ca by January 9, 2026. 

All applications will be forwarded to the IRCSC for consideration.

To meet the criteria of the John Bragg Chair in Entrepreneurship program, the successful candidate will have the following preferred experiences and qualifications:

• Tenured or probationary Faculty Member or Librarian;
• An active program or past record in entrepreneurship or related fields of innovation, ideally in the context of Atlantic Canada;
• Experience in curriculum design and delivery related to entrepreneurship; and
• Demonstrated commitment to community and/or industry engagement.

The Chair program is committed to the UPEI EDI Strategy, which advances equity, diversity and inclusion within the University community. The assessments follow the Tri-Agency’s best practice assessment guidelines to ensure that determinations of excellence are not limited to traditional and narrow perspectives (including in the review of Indigenous research).