Announcement of the University of Toronto Press External Review

From: Scott Mabury, Vice President, Operations & Real Estate Partnerships
Cheryl Regehr, Vice-President & Provost
Date: January 7, 2021
Re: Announcement of the University of Toronto Press External Review

As part of our ongoing process of ensuring academic excellence at U of T, the Provost and I have commissioned an external review of the University of Toronto Press for 2021. Reviews provide an unparalleled opportunity to secure the expert advice of leaders in the field, assess our performance against leading international institutions, and receive guidance on key strategic directions. The last external review of the University of Toronto Press was in 2007. The review report is taken forward to governance as a measure of its importance and made broadly available to stakeholders.

As you may know, University of Toronto Press (UTP) is Canada’s leading academic publisher and one of the largest university presses in North America. Founded in 1901, UTP has published over 6,500 books, and each year, UTP publishes approximately 200 new scholarly, course, and general interest books in both print and ebook and more than 40 Journals. The press has published a long list of notable authors, including Northrop Frye, Robertson Davies, Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, Yousuf Karsh, Carl Berger, Umberto Eco, Dorothy E. Smith, and Julia Kristeva. In addition, UTP has published landmark books in Canadian history, such as the Historical Atlas of Canada, the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, the Encyclopedia of Canada’s Peoples, and the History of the Book in Canada.

I am pleased to inform you that an external review team for the University of Toronto Press has been established and will be meeting with UTP stakeholders in February 2021. Its members are Amy Brand, Director, MIT Press; Garrett Kiely, Director, The University of Chicago Press; Niko Pfund, President, Oxford University Press, USA; and Dean Smith, Director, Duke University Press.

I have attached, for your information, a copy of the terms of reference for the review.

We will be working closely with the UTP to arrange the schedule for the review visit, including meetings with a broad range of constituencies that will provide the reviewers with the opportunity to hear a wide range of views.

If you have comments or suggestions that would benefit the review, please provide them to Elizabeth Cragg, Director, Office of the Vice-President, Operations & Real Estate Partnerships at Elizabeth.cragg@utoronto.ca.