From: Joshua Barker, Vice-Provost, Graduate Research and Education and Dean, School of Graduate Studies
Date: November 12, 2021
Re: Appointment of Acting Vice-Dean, Students, School of Graduate Studies (PDAD&C #21)

I’m pleased to announce that the Agenda Committee of Academic Board has approved the appointment of Dr. Yana Yunusova as the Acting Vice Dean, Students for a one-year term starting January 1, 2022. She will serve in this role while Professor Charmaine Williams (SGS’s current Vice Dean, Students) takes on an assignment as the Interim Dean of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.

Dr. Yunusova is currently a Professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, as well as an Associate Scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and a Senior Scientist the UHN Toronto Rehabilitation institute (KITE). She comes to her role with extensive experience in improving outcomes for graduate students, including a term as the Graduate Coordinator of the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute (RSI), where she focussed on quality improvements to graduate research supervisory approaches, updates to RSI admissions practices, and initiated new orientation workshops for graduate students. Since then, she has also served as Acting Director for the RSI. In recognition of her outstanding work as a teacher and mentor, Dr. Yunusova recently received the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s Mid-Career Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentorship Award.

Professor Yunusova received her PhD in Communicative Disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2005 and joined the University of Toronto in 2007. Her research program focuses on the development of cutting-edge technologies for automatic assessment of orofacial dysfunction and speech disorders and novel methods of speech therapy that aim to impact clinical practice in the fields of speech language pathology and neurology.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Yunusova as she begins her term as Acting Vice-Dean, Students in the School of Graduate Studies.