Peter Stoicheff reflects on decade-long tenure as USask president

University of Saskatchewan President Peter Stoicheff looks back as his 10 year term winds down.

University of Saskatchewan president Peter Stoicheff is looking back on his time at the helm of the school as his 10-year term nears the finish line.

“It’s been a wonderful decade for the university, and it’s been a wonderful privilege to be the president of it,” Stoicheff told CTV Your Morning Saskatchewan.

Dr. Vince Bruni-Bossio will replace Stoicheff, beginning a new five-year term Jan. 1, 2026.

“I leave with mixed feelings. My successor will do well in the role, and I felt, together with a lot of people, we accomplished a lot over the 10 years.”

Stoicheff has served as the 11th president of the University of Saskatchewan since succeeding Ilene Busch-Vischniac, following an interim appointment by Gordon Barnhart.

He said there have been plenty of highlights during his time as leader.

“The new campus in Prince Albert being built. Merlis Belsher Place [being built] after people told me we’d never be able to build a new hockey arena. There have been a lot of good things over the last 10 years. It’s a wonderful university with a lot of supporters.”

Stoicheff also led the university through a record-setting fundraising campaign, with the “Be What The World Needs” campaign raising $570,739,155 to fund a variety of initiatives and innovations at the school.

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He said he’s most proud of being part of the group that’s helped raise the school’s standing internationally.

“We’ve been able to build our international standing due to things like the Global Institute for Food Security and Vaccine Infectious Disease Organization lab (which became Canada’s Centre for Pandemic Research),” he said. “That work is so meaningful to so many people around the world now, and our reputation has really gone up globally. That’s been great to see.”

That growing reputation has led to a rise in enrollment. The university says it now has more than 26,600 students enrolled annually, an almost 10 per cent increase from a decade ago.

“It’s always been a university that means a lot to the people of the province. I hadn’t thought about it so much as a faculty member. I think it means a lot more to the people of this province than other universities in Canada do to the people of their province,” Stoicheff explained.

The University of Saskatchewan says on average, 4,800 students graduate each year, with about 70 per cent of alumni choosing to stay in the province.