The University of Northern British Columbia has appointed Geoffrey Payne as the institution’s sixth president and vice-chancellor. Dr. Payne has served as UNBC’s interim president since February 2020, helping to guide the university through the COVID-19 pandemic and ratifying a collective agreement with the UNBC faculty association. He first came to UNBC in 2004 to teach physiology, following a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University in the department of cellular and molecular physiology and John B. Pierce Laboratory. Since then, he has held a variety of roles, including vice-president, research, and went on to be one of the founding faculty members of the northern medical program at UNBC. He holds a PhD in cardiovascular and renal physiology,  a master’s of science in neuroscience and pharmacology, and a bachelor of science in behavioural neuroscience from Memorial University.