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“It has been an honour and a privilege. I want to thank our students, faculty, staff, alumni and wider community for all the support to me and, of course, to the University of Calgary during this time,” Cannon stated.

She noted that she will have served in her role for more than eight years once she formally resigns from her position.

“This has been a wonderful journey for me and I know over the next 11 months we will continue to do great work as we ensure a smooth transition to new leadership of the University of Calgary,” she stated.

Cannon touted the launch of the university’s Eyes High strategy, which aims to “sharpen focus on research and scholarship, enrich the quality and breadth of learning, and integrate the university with the community,” as a highlight of her term as president. The strategy also aims to make the U of C a top-five research institute in Canada by 2022.

She leaves her role a year and a half before her contract was set to expire at the end of June 2020. Having begun her term as president in 2010, Cannon’s contract was extended in July 2014, which paid her $480,000 in annual salary.

Ritchie said the board of governors is immediately launching a search for the next president and considers itself fortunate to have almost a year to find a candidate.