Dean of the School of Continuing Studies (PDAD&C #32)

On December 31, 2016, Marilynn Booth will end her appointment as Dean of the School of Continuing Studies. Marilynn has chosen to step down and retire, following an administrative leave.

Marilynn joined the University of Toronto on January 1, 2006, leaving her roles as Dean of The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education and Professor in the School of Nursing at Ryerson University. An M.Sc. Nursing graduate of the University of Toronto, Marilynn brought an exceptional commitment to continuing education and quickly articulated a mission to put the learners first. Marilynn’s direction has fostered extraordinary growth in all areas of the School from new and expanded programs, to development of online and hybrid courses, to the recruitment and development of an expert team of instructors. These remarkable efforts have resulted in annual enrolments that have nearly tripled over the past decade to about 30,000 in 2015-16. To attract these new students, Marilynn has forged links with Divisions across the University and built partnerships with leading organizations and academic institutions to significantly grow the School’s breadth and depth of offerings. Under her leadership, the School is realizing its vision to transform lifelong learning and be a global leader in university continuing education.

On behalf of the University of Toronto, I would like to express gratitude for her passion for community learning, her exceptional leadership of the School, and her service to the greater U of T over the last decade.

Although this appointment is not bound by the Policy on Appointment of Academic Administrators, we will follow a similar process (Section 60) for the search for the new Dean of the School of Continuing Studies. As such, I write to call for nominations for the advisory committee that will advise the President on the appointment of a new Dean.

The composition of the advisory committee will be as follows:

• The Vice-President and Provost (Chair);
• One to three instructors of the School;
• One to three learners of the School;
• The Dean of the School of Graduate Studies or representative;
• A librarian, where appropriate;
• Two or three other qualified scholars from within or outside this University, but outside the School;
• In addition, the committee may include an alumnus/a, a member of the administrative staff, and a senior member of the appropriate professional community.

The Advisory Committee will begin meeting at the end of the winter term. Nominations for the Committee should be sent by February 19, 2016, via the Office of the Provost’s online web form.

Questions about this search should be directed to Assistant Provost Archana Sridhar at archana.sridhar@utoronto.ca.