NAIT welcomes Peter Leclaire as new vice-president academic

NAIT is pleased to welcome Peter Leclaire as the polytechnic’s new vice-president academic. Leclaire brings 30 years of diverse experience in Alberta’s post-secondary system to his new role, which he will begin on March 21, 2022. 

As vice-president academic, Leclaire will focus on enhancing operations in NAIT’s four schools –JR Shaw School of Business, School of Applied Sciences and Technology, School of Health and Life Sciences, and School of Skilled Trades – and within the Office of the Registrar and Student Progression. He will also play a key role in achieving the goals and vision for polytechnic education identified in The NAIT Effect, the institute’s strategic plan. 

Leclaire joins NAIT after six years with the Government of Alberta’s Ministry of Advanced Education, most recently as the assistant deputy minister (ADM) of Insight, Transformation and Innovation. Since 2014, he has served in several ADM roles within the ministry, spanning apprenticeship and student aid, post-secondary policy and legislation, capital and infrastructure planning, research and analysis, grant management, system accountability, transformation and change management, and digital transformation. 

Prior to his work in government, Leclaire spent more than two decades at Lethbridge College, where he started as a contract instructor. His career progressed into various leadership roles at the college, where he served as the chair of the School of Engineering Technology, dean of the Centre of Agriculture, Trades and Technology, vice-president academic and chief learning officer, and the interim president and CEO. 

Before his post-secondary career, Leclaire held various industry roles, including as a technologist in the private sector leading the digital transformation of a small engineering firm. 

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