Brandon University now has a new leader. Dr. David Docherty is the new President and Vice-Chancellor at BU. 

"It means an awful lot to me and it's an incredible honour to do so," said Dr. Docherty. "I think BU is a great university with a fantastic past and a wonderful future and it's a real treat to be leading it. My wife and I look forward to spending the next number of years in Manitoba."

Dr. Docherty started his new role last Wednesday and BU is the third university he's been at. He was the President at Mount Royal University from 2011 up until he accepted the position at BU. Prior to that, he was at Wilfrid Laurier University. 

He holds a PhD in political science. Despite being in Brandon for a very short period of time, Dr. Docherty has immersed himself right into the community.

"I had a couple of meetings and I spent the first afternoon at the bar on campus and I let everyone know I was going to be there," added Dr. Docherty. "I was able to open up my computer once but I didn't have the chance to check my emails because there was a constant stream of people coming to visit and introduce themselves. It was a very, very warm welcome."

With a couple of days now under his belt, Dr. Docherty is ready to get things going.

"BU is a very mature university in terms of its research profile and it's course offerings," added Dr. Docherty. "I certainly welcome the opportunity to engage and increase our offerings and I look forward to leading the university in some exciting directions,"

Spending time at the university and leading BU isn't the only thing Dr. Docherty will enjoy doing during his time in Brandon. His wife and he have two 75-85 pound dogs that they walk every single morning.

"That's something that I certainly enjoy doing every single morning, it's a fantastic way to start the day," said Dr. Docherty. "We are also avid sports fans so I think the community can expect us to be at a lot of Bobcat games. I also like to curl up with a good book, so that's a few of the things we enjoy doing during our free time."

David takes over for Dr. Gervan Fearon after he left BU in 2017. Dr. Steve Robinson has been the Interim President since that time.