From: Meric Gertler, President
Date: August 20, 2021
Re: Update on the Vice-President, Research & Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives

I am writing to let you know that Professor Ted Sargent will be stepping down as Vice-President, Research & Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives effective December 31, 2021. 

Ted will be moving to the Chicago area with his family, where he and his spouse Professor Shana Kelley have accepted appointments at Northwestern University. The transition process will begin in early 2022. He will continue to operate his research labs and supervise graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at U of T during the transition period. Following this, he will maintain a smaller but still significant research presence in Toronto, allowing him to retain his affiliation with the University of Toronto, and to continue to supervise graduate students and postdocs.

Ted has served the University of Toronto with distinction, as both Vice-President, International (2016-2020) and Vice-President, Research & Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives (since July 1, 2020). As VPI, he spearheaded the University’s growing global engagement, guided by a comprehensive international strategy whose development he led. Since taking on the VPRISI role, Ted has forged ambitious plans to enhance the University’s research performance and profile, while providing strong leadership in promoting institutional strategic initiatives. 

Ted joined the University of Toronto in 1998. He holds the rank of University Professor and Canada Research Chair in Nanotechnology in the Edward S. Rogers Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. A prolific scholar and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the AAAS, the IEEE, and the Canadian Academy of Engineering, his publications have been cited over 50,000 times. 

I will soon be issuing a call for nominations for membership of the advisory committee, as the first step in the search process to appoint a new VPRISI. 

While we are sorry that Ted will be leaving the VPRISI post, we are pleased that he will continue to maintain a strong association with the University of Toronto in the coming years. I know you join me in wishing him and his family well as they embark on this new chapter in their lives and careers.