Cheryl Misak has been named U of T’s new deputy provost, replacing the outgoing David Farrar.
Misak, a professor of philosophy, comes to St. George campus from UTM, where she was Dean of Students and, recently, Acting Vice-Principal of the campus.
Awaiting Dr. Misak are two major administrative projects currently underway. A controversial restructuring of Student Affairs initiated during Farrar’s tenure, while welcomed by Governing Council as reform of a bloated system, has drawn outrage from U of T staff and unions. Also on her plate will be the university’s 2030 plan, a document envisioning U of T almost two decades from now and setting out priorities for the long term.
“‘Intense’ is one way to put it, but it will be a deeply interesting period,” said Misak, who butted heads with the UTM student union over a surplus in UTM’s parking budget earlier this year.
During a heated February meeting the car-heavy campus, Misak argued against using the surplus to lower parking fees, pointing to costs such as parking lot repaving and storm water management, which prompted former SAC VP UTM Walied Khogali to rebuke her: “Students are not revenue-generating units. We have so many other things to do.”
Misak said she built a great relationship with student leaders at UTM and wants to focus on teaching advancements to improve students’ academic experience.
