Two U of T professors have been wooed by the University of Michigan, and a petition is underway to ask that U of T match the offer.
Juhn Ahn and Amanda Goodman both teach courses on Buddhism for the religion department; Ahn also teaches for East Asian studies. Ahn said their possible departure is “tangentially related”—the two are married. Megan Wahlberg, president of the Buddhism, Psychology and Mental Health Student Union, started the petition to Cheryl Misak, U of T vice-president and provost. The petition calls on Misak to “protect these programs that promote diversity at our university.”
The BPMSU serves an undergraduate minor program with around 100 students and three or four faculty members, according to Wahlberg.
Both the professors and Misak’s office declined to comment, citing confidentiality of ongoing negotiations.
“Right now we’re in the midst of negotiations,” said Ahn. “So a lot of the ink that has been spilled on the table is fresh.”
Speaking hypothetically, Ahn said his departure would “burden two departments as opposed to just one, and both departments are relatively small so their burden would be high.”
Students have criticized U of T for prioritizing more mainstream programs with commercial potential, such as engineering and commerce, arguing they have shortchanged smaller programs like interdisciplinary studies.
At recent town halls, a number of representatives from academic unions for interdisciplinary programs expressed concern over a faculty of arts and sciences review. Speakers were worried their programs would be cut, resulting in what they saw as the potential loss of diversity at U of T.
Ahn expressed no such worries. Neither did John Kloppenborg, chair of the religion department. “The university has a very clearly stated priority to promote interdisciplinarity, diversity, and our department has been […] in the forefront of promoting exactly that,” he said.
