Dal hires 5th provost since 2024

Dalhousie University has hired Brenda Merritt, the dean of health, as the university’s acting provost and vice-president academic. 

Merritt entered the position on Sept. 14, becoming the fifth acting provost, interim provost, or provost at Dalhousie since 2024.

She replaces interim provost Heather Bruce, dean of agriculture, who has held the role since August after replacing Wanda Costen, who left the university in July.

A provost is the university’s senior academic leader who oversees academic operations and aligns them with other Dalhousie operations, including the budget, within the school’s academic goals. Dalhousie established the current provost role in 2014 with expanded responsibilities and powers. Since then, the university has had 12 different provosts.

Yet another new provost has spurred an open letter from the Dalhousie Faculty Association, the union representing almost 1,000 faculty members, to Dal President Kim Brooks calling for changes to the hiring process for senior administration.

In the Sept. 16 letter, the DFA said Dalhousie should implement an open search policy for senior administrators, where faculty can attend presentations from short-listed candidates, ask them questions and provide confidential assessments of candidates.

David Westwood, DFA president-elect, says the faculty union believes the closed-door searches display a lack of confidence in the academic staff.

“If you weren’t a part of the process of choosing the person, you’re not going to believe in their ideals and follow them,” he says. “Good leaders can’t lead if nobody’s following.”

The DFA says these policies used to be the norm at Dal, until the university recently switched to searches conducted by a small group behind closed doors. The union says this system “treat[s] a university appointment like a state secret,” and has contributed to high turnover rates in the upper administration  — Dalhousie has had six presidents in the past decade. 

The Dalhousie Gazette’s requests for comment from Brooks and Merritt were declined. 

“The university depends on meaningful collegial engagement,” said Janet Bryson, Dal’s director of communications, in an email to the Gazette on Sept. 18. “Trust, transparency, and good working relationships between faculty, administration, and the Board are vital. We are committed to finding ways to strengthen those relationships.”

Bryson said the university would not publicly comment on the open letter until they directly respond to the DFA.

Merrit has been dean of the faculty of health since July 2019. She is also an associate professor in the school of occupational therapy, with cross appointments in nursing and international development studies.

Costen held the role from January 2025 to July 2026 before leaving the university after a “mutual” decision, according to Dal. She had not worked at Dalhousie before becoming provost.

She played a key role in developing Dalhousie’s 2026-27 budget, which added $14.1 million to the school’s deficit and required every university faculty and unit to cut 6.3 per cent from its expenses. 

Costen also played a central role in the university’s contract negotiations with the DFA and in its decision to lock its members off campus when talks failed, cancelling classes for four weeks last September.

“We urge senior administration to work collaboratively with faculty to rebuild trust and move forward on a more stable, transparent, and informed footing,” read the DFA’s letter. “The Board can help begin that process by immediately directing a return to open searches at Dalhousie.”