“We are committed to the goal of providing the very best educational experience.”

​​​​​​​Working with students to realize their potential is very important to me. An important goal during my tenure is to enhance the student experience at OISE overall.

To this end, my colleagues and I are committed to creating a more integrated Student Services portfolio to ensure the needs of both our initial teacher education candidates and our graduate students are met. Students are the life force of the Institute, and we are committed to the goal of providing the very best educational experience.

I started at U of T in 1996. Important developments I’ve seen during my time here include:

• The commitment to minimum funding for graduate students. This has been a very positive initiative for students.

• There has been a growth of professional programs at UTSC, UTM, and on the St. George campus.

• The commitment to make graduate education more accessible to disadvantaged and under-represented groups.

• The growth of collaborative, interdisciplinary initiatives, and international initiatives.

• The changes that have occurred as a result of technological advances including course delivery, communication, and the role of social media inter alia.

Another noteworthy trend that has emerged is a senior leadership team composed predominantly of women. This latter development is in sharp contrast to the policies in place at the beginning of the 20th century, when women were not admitted to the University.

The journey in administration began as Chair of the Department of Adult Education and Counselling Psychology in 2009. As Chair, I had been very involved with the strategic planning process and was committed to seeing some of the initiatives come to fruition. The opportunity to continue to implement the vision that was developed during the strategic planning exercise was provided to me when I was asked to assume the role of Associate Dean, Programs. It has been very interesting and exciting to work across different levels and systems within the University community.