Ajay Patel (Canadian Academic)

Ajay Patel is a Canadian academic and President & Chief Executive Officer of Vancouver Community Collegehttps://www.vcc.ca/about/governance--policies/about-the-president/. 
Prior to his appointment as President of VCC in September, 2019, Patel served as a Vice-President at Langara College. Patel has also served on a number of executive boards, including both Badminton BC and Gymnastics BChttps://www.vcc.ca/about/college-information/news/article/media-release-vcc-selects-ajay-patel-as-president-and-ceo.html. In addition to his executive leadership roles within academia, Patel has also won various awards as a successful coach and leader of Team B.C. at the Canada Summer Games and Canada Winter Games. 
==Early life and education==
Patel was born in Fiji and emigrated to Canada in 1975 when he was 6 years old. Growing up in East Vancouver, Patel was a successful athlete and academichttps://educationnewscanada.com/article/education/category/appointments/102/836962/vcc-announces-new-president-ajay-patel.html. He has attended Vancouver Community College, Langara College, and the University of British Columbia - attaining a Masters' degree in Human Kinetics from UBC. 
==Career==
Patel began his academic career as a Kinesiology instructor at Langara College. Throughout the years he attained more senior leadership roles, taking on the Chair of the Kinesiology department, and then being promoted to Dean of International Education, Associate Vice-President, and Vice-President in successionhttps://www.vcc.ca/about/governance--policies/about-the-president/. In 2019, Patel was chosen as Vancouver Community College's new President & CEO, concluding several decades of public service at Langara College. 
Upon taking on the role of President & CEO of Vancouver Community College, Patel immediately sought to prioritise several key projects, most notably the 10-Year Capital Project which centers around the sustainable long-term redevelopment of the VCC Downtown Campus site in Downtown Vancouver. 
Patel has also championed the return of a program at VCC's Downtown Campus which provides free, high-quality meals to at-risk and disadvantaged members of the Downtown Eastside community. This came in response to increasing pressures on the area as a result of COVID-19 . 
== Personal life ==
Patel lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, along with his wife of 24 years and two childrenhttps://educationnewscanada.com/article/education/category/appointments/102/836962/vcc-announces-new-president-ajay-patel.html. 
==In the media==
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==References==
==External links==
* Ajay Patel wins International Education Distinguished Leadership Award
* VCC announces new President, Ajay Patel - Education News
* About the President - Vancouver Community College
* Ajay Patel on linkedin
* 
* Ajay Patel's email & phone | Vancouver Community College's
Category:Living people
Category:People from Vancouver
Category:Fijian emigrants to Canada
Category:1969 births
Category:Canadian academics
Category:Master's degrees
Category:University of British Columbia alumni