Diyan Achjadi Appointed Vice-President Academic + Provost of Emily Carr University
Diyan Achjadi in the Print Media Studio at Emily Carr University in 2025. (Photo by Perrin Grauer)
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Diyan, a longtime faculty member who served as ECU’s Interim VP Academic + Provost since 2023, will begin their appointment April 1, 2025.
Emily Carr University of Art + Design is pleased to announce the appointment of Diyan Achjadi as Vice-President Academic + Provost.
Reporting to the President, the VP Academic + Provost is responsible for representing faculty, and holding accountability and oversight for academic programming at the university. Diyan’s appointment follows an external search vetted by a committee with faculty, staff, student and board representation.
“Diyan’s extensive experience in practice-based art and design education and deep knowledge of the sector is an enormous asset for the university, and I can’t wait to see how they flourish under this new, permanent mandate,” says Trish Kelly, President + Vice-Chancellor at ECU.
“In the interim role, they stewarded their extensive portfolio with great care and curiosity, and over their two decades at ECU have proven themselves a generous collaborator and fierce advocate. Their contribution to projects including the Strategic Plan, equity initiatives and student and faculty recruitment has been invaluable. We are very fortunate to have someone so thoughtful, compassionate and capable helping to shape the university’s future.”
Diyan, a queer, Vancouver-based artist working in drawing, printmaking and animation, takes on the permanent role having served as Interim VP Academic + Provost since 2023.
During that time, Diyan has worked collaboratively across Academic Affairs, Student Services, Counselling + Wellness, the Emily Carr Students’ Union and Facilities to support wellness and food initiatives including pantry and kitchen upgrades, microwaves and other resources for student use and community programming.
They have also been a key contributor to the work of improving space and capital planning processes, including working with partners such as the Centre for Digital Media to develop new grad studios and classrooms in the neighbouring building, and helping to shape improvements for the administration of exhibitions on campus.
“An exciting synergy has been building at ECU,” Diyan says. “Working with talented people – and being able to understand and support the university much more holistically – has been incredibly fulfilling and is the great privilege of this role. A lot of the work people do can be invisible, but we’re starting to see our investment in things like policy and systems improvement pay off. I’m extremely proud to have been granted the confidence of the community to continue this important work and help foster more positive change throughout ECU.”
