Stacy Kirpichova named UFV director of communications
Stacy Kirpichova is the new director of communications at the University of the Fraser Valley, leading the team responsible for internal and external communication, media relations, storytelling and issues management.
Many people at UFV will already be familiar with Stacy. She joined the university as associate director of communications in April 2025 and took on the director role in an acting capacity that August.
“Moving into the director role feels especially meaningful because I’m not arriving as a stranger. I’ve had time to learn the institution, build relationships and experience firsthand how deeply people care about UFV and the communities it serves,” she says.
Before joining UFV, Stacy spent more than 16 years working across communications, organizational change, technology, learning and development, and writing and editing. Her experience includes establishing the first corporate communications function at 123Dentist, supporting technology communications at Raymond James and holding communications and learning roles with Great Canadian Entertainment and BCLC.
Stacy earned a Master of Arts in Communication and Culture from York University, where her research explored technology, communication and society. She also holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in English, with a humanities minor, from Simon Fraser University.
“Curiosity has always been one of the strongest threads running through both my life and career,” she says. “Being part of a university filled with people who share that curiosity is an extraordinary privilege.”
What continues to resonate with Stacy is UFV’s connection to place and community.
“UFV feels like a special place where people can bring the full range of their strengths and talents, develop them, and feel genuinely appreciated for what they contribute,” she says.
For Stacy, the driving force behind communications is connection: connecting people, places, ideas and experiences that might otherwise remain separate.
“I believe our work is more vital than ever in an age of misinformation, information overload and algorithms that can divide ideas and audiences rather than bringing them together,” she says.
She sees this work as meaning-making: helping people make sense of complexity and recognize how their experiences connect to something larger.
“It also asks us to consider whose experiences are represented, which stories become visible and whether people recognize themselves in the stories that an institution tells about itself.”
“Stacy brings a thoughtful, strategic and deeply human approach to communications,” says Susan Mide Kiss, UFV’s vice-president, Community Engagement. “She understands that strong communication is not simply about sharing information — it is about building trust, strengthening relationships and helping people see themselves in the life and work of the university. Her leadership, curiosity and commitment to collaboration will continue to strengthen UFV’s connection with the communities we serve.”
Stacy is proud to lead a team committed to ethical storytelling, journalistic integrity, community and genuine collaboration.
“My role is to help create the conditions in which they can do their best work: to trust their expertise, support their development and ensure they understand the purpose and impact behind what we do,” she says.
Looking ahead, Stacy plans to strengthen the systems supporting communications at UFV, making it easier for people to access the team’s expertise, improving planning and measurement, and bringing strategic communications into institutional conversations earlier. She also values collaborative relationships across the Community Engagement portfolio and with colleagues throughout UFV, bringing different perspectives and expertise together to advance shared priorities.
Her time at UFV has also inspired her to continue her education. She will begin the Doctor of Social Sciences program at Royal Roads University in January 2027, with a developing research interest in communication, meaning-making, human agency and the role of AI.
“Being surrounded by people who are deeply committed to learning, research and changemaking helped me reconnect with my own intellectual curiosity,” she says.
