Thompson Rivers University has found a new president and vice chancellor.
Brett Fairbairn was selected for the role among 41 candidates assessed by the university's search committee.
Fairbairn will leave his post as professor at the University of Saskatchewan's Graduate School of Public Policy.
"[TRU] is different from other places, and I think that's a very positive reputation to have in the university world," he told host Shelley Joyce on CBC's Daybreak Kamloops.
"The people here are very friendly... it reminds me of prairie people."
Fairbairn will officially take over the role in December, succeeding Alan Shaver.
Student funding
One of the main goals for the new president will be to secure more funding from the provincial government.
Post-secondary institutions in B.C. receive government funding based on their total full-time enrolment.
According to the university's student union, TRU receives approximately $1500 less in per-student funding than the average post-secondary institution in B.C.
The union argues that the school has been underfunded by $80 million over the last five years.
Fairbairn says he hopes to be a good ambassador for the school.
"One of the jobs of a university president is to work on that relationship with the government," he said.
"They're our biggest partner and certainly our biggest funder," he said.
Fairbairn says he plans to also help TRU use the funding it does receive and be creative with it.
With files from CBC's Daybreak Kamloops