Patrick Deane is currently Principal of Queen’s University, Canada, a position he has held since 2019. Before that he served nine years as President and Vice-Chancellor of McMaster University, Canada. He has also been Provost and Vice-Principal Academic at two Canadian institutions. Raised and educated in South Africa, he has a deep commitment to higher education as a force for social justice and transformation, and understands that the mission of universities must be understood in relation to their impact at both the local and global level. Deane’s commitment to global engagement comes together with his advocacy for academic freedom and autonomy in his work for the Magna Charta Observatory at the University of Bologna, where he currently serves as President of the Governing Council of the Observatory. He is one of the authors of the Magna Charta Universitatum 2020. He is also the recipient of numerous honours and awards, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his service to higher education. Deane is Professor of English Language and Literature at Queen’s University. His research focus is on the relationship between politics and artistic production in Britain, 1914-1945.