From: Cheryl Regehr, Vice-President & Provost
Date: October 6, 2023
Re: Reappointment of Professor Melanie Woodin as Dean, Faculty of Arts and Science  (PDAD&C #12)

I am pleased to announce that the Agenda Committee of Academic Board has approved the reappointment of Professor Melanie Woodin as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science for a five-year term from July 1, 2024 to December 30, 2029, including six months of administrative leave.

Under Professor Woodin’s leadership, Arts and Science has leveraged the Faculty’s interdisciplinary strengths for exceptional outcomes. Research funding has increased, including $200-million awarded to the Acceleration Consortium—the largest federal research grant to a university in Canadian history. Professor Woodin also oversaw the development of new centres for African Studies and Caribbean Studies, the elevation of the Centre for Indigenous Studies, the creation of the Online Learning Academy, and the launch of the Arts and Science Internship Program.

Professor Woodin engages deeply with students and is committed to improving their experience, both inside and outside the classroom. She has supported the transformation of student spaces in the Arts & Science Colleges, expanded College-based registrarial supports, and oversaw the development and launch of new academic programs, including a Certificate in Business Fundamentals in partnership with the Rotman School of Management, and a Masters in Environment and Sustainability offered by the School of the Environment.

Professor Woodin is an internationally recognized neuroscientist renowned for her multi-disciplinary approach to understanding synaptic communication in the brain. Professor Woodin’s collaborative research program is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. She was also named as one of five researchers at U of T and its affiliated hospitals to receive a New Ideas Award.

Professor Woodin earned her BSc and MSc from the University of Toronto and her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Calgary. Professor Woodin conducted her Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley.

Professor Woodin also serves on the Board of Directors at the Vector Institute and Palette Skills. She is the President-Elect of the Canadian Association of Neuroscience, and a member of the Canadian Brain Research Strategy leadership.

Professor Woodin’s leadership, research excellence, and commitment to interdisciplinarity will be key to the continued success of the Faculty of Arts and Science in the years ahead. Please join me in congratulating Professor Woodin on this appointment.