Dr. William Holmes is the Academic Director of Royal Roads University Ras Al Khaimah and a senior academic leader with more than 25 years of experience in higher education, academic governance, institutional leadership, and curriculum development across Canada and internationally.
He currently serves as Professor within the School of Leadership and Management at Royal Roads University Canada while overseeing academic quality assurance and curriculum delivery for the Ras Al Khaimah campus. In this role, he maintains direct academic and administrative coordination between Royal Roads University Canada and the RRU RAK campus to ensure alignment with institutional standards and educational objectives.
Prior to this appointment, Dr. Holmes held several senior leadership roles at Royal Roads University, including Interim Vice President Academic and Provost, Dean of the Faculty of Management, Associate Professor within the School of Business, and Member of the Board of Governors. His leadership has contributed significantly to academic planning, governance, quality assurance, faculty development, and student-centred program delivery across undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral education.
Before joining Royal Roads University, he served as Vice Provost at Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning and Dean of the Faculty of Business at Sheridan College, where he led strategic and operational initiatives across large multi-campus academic environments. He has also taught internationally as an External Professor with Copenhagen Business School’s International Summer University Program in Denmark.
In addition to his academic leadership, Dr. Holmes has extensive experience in governance and professional education. He serves with The Chartered Governance Institute of Canada as Director, Facilitator, and Expert Examiner, contributing to governance, strategy, and risk management education within the Directors Education Program. He has also served on boards and audit committees within educational and professional organizations, including NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
Dr. Holmes holds a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in Corporate Environmental Policy from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, an MBA in International Business from the University of British Columbia, and graduate studies in Philosophy and Ethics from the University of Waterloo. He also holds several professional governance and accounting designations, including Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute (FCG), ICD.D Corporate Director designation, and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA Ontario).
