Feridun Hamdullahpur


Feridun Hamdullahpur is the president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo. Hamdullahpur was named the sixth president of the University of Waterloo in March 2011.

Early life

Hamdullahpur was born in Turkey to an Iranian father and a Turk mother. He is the youngest of five brothers. His businessman father, Nasri, died of liver disease before Hamdullahpur turned one. His mother, Merziye, raised her five sons in Turkey. He moved from Turkey to Nova Scotia in 1981 where met his wife, Cathy. Cathy was 21, a fourth-year nursing student at Dalhousie University.
They married in Halifax on June 28, 1985 and later traveled to Turkey for a small ceremony with family.

Education

Hamdullahpur attended the Istanbul Technical University earning his undergraduate degree and his master's in mechanical engineering. He moved to Canada to do a PhD at the Technical University of Nova Scotia, which is now part of Dalhousie University.
Prior to being appointed President, Hamdullahpur was Waterloo's Vice President Academic and Provost, a role which he held for just over a year before being appointed interim President. Prior to this, Hamdullahpur held various roles at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.