Call for Nominations – Advisory Committee for the Director of the School of Cities (PDAD&C #81)

From: Cheryl Regehr, Vice-President & Provost
David Cameron, Dean, Faculty of Arts & Science
Date: May 9, 2019
Re: Call for Nominations – Advisory Committee for the Director of the School of Cities (PDAD&C #81)

We are writing to initiate the process for selecting a Director of the School of Cities.

The University of Toronto established the new School of Cities on July 1, 2018. The School of Cities is an interdivisional entity that will work across institutional and disciplinary boundaries to coordinate, aggregate, and amplify the University’s expertise in cities research, education, and partnerships, locally and globally. Its purpose is to address the complex challenges facing the world’s urban areas, with the aim of making cities and urban regions more sustainable, prosperous, inclusive, and just.

The new School serves as a key institutional vehicle for addressing one of the University’s top strategic priorities: to take better advantage of our location in one of the world’s most vibrant, culturally diverse, and economically dynamic regions, with the aim of benefiting both the University and the city-region of which it is a part. The School is a research-driven enterprise, focused around team-based “urban challenge” projects, with significant and integrated co-curricular, outreach/partnership and public engagement mandates. It will build connections within and outside the University, establish a strong interdisciplinary research foundation, and eventually offer undergraduate and graduate courses that will complement and augment existing programs, as well as offer experiential learning opportunities and public educational activities.

In accordance with the Guidelines for the Director (EDU:C/D) Search Process in the Faculty of Arts & Science, we are writing to call for the nomination of individuals to serve on the Committee that will advise us on the appointment of a new Director.

The Guidelines require the striking of a balanced advisory committee. Normally, the advisory committee for an EDU:C includes at least:

  • Three to five members of the teaching staff;
  • One to two students;

Given that the School of Cities is an interdivisional entity, we welcome the nomination of suitable candidates from any division.

Following a formal Request for Proposals and a rigorous selection process, we have engaged the consulting firm Caldwell Partners to assist the Advisory Committee in conducting an international search for a new Director.

The Advisory Committee will begin meeting in the summer. Nominations for the Committee should be submitted by Friday, May 24, 2019 via the online form.

Questions about this search process should be directed to Mikael Swayze at mikael.swayze@utoronto.ca or 416.946.5182