Judith Wolfson was recently appointed to the newly-created role of vice-president, international, government and institutional relations. In this position, she is responsible for a large portfolio that spans government, institutional and community relations, international relations, and strategic communications.

Although the University of Toronto does consistently well in world rankings, it does not get the attention it deserves, Wolfson believes. “I mean… here’s this great university in a great city, in a wonderful country. And we’re so Canadian, we’re modest, and I don’t think that we have enough airtime if you will,” she says. “It’s a great university by everybody’s measure, and yet people don’t know. So when I go to England and I talk about U of T, [the reaction is] ‘Is it Texas that we’re talking about?’” Wolfson laughs. “We haven’t told our story well enough.”

AT HOME AND ABROAD

International recruitment is arguably one of the university’s biggest challenges, with international tuition fees on a steady rise.

However, Wolfson does not view the difference between domestic and international tuition fees to be an obstacle. “I must say that international tuition fees, I don’t think are a significant barrier. When you are excellent, and when you rank with the rest of the world — whether or not you quibble about a specific ranking, whether it’s 19, 20 or 21 — if you’re in the top tier, which the University of Toronto is, then in fact the issue is ensuring that people know,” she says.

“Of course we want to ensure that we have open and accessible university and U of T does its best to do that,” she adds. “That’s been a goal for us.”

Wolfson highlights U of T’s status as a research-intensive university, and the key role that universities play in shaping nations and peoples, as successes of which people should be aware.

U of T’s focus on research implies a concentration on graduate studies, with the potential to detract from undergraduate recruitment. However, Wolfson does not see it that way.

“If you look at the numbers, in fact it’s much more undergraduate than graduate, so I think that’s a fallacy,” she says.

“When you’re a research-intensive university, the opportunities for undergraduates to do research, to be exposed to the great researchers, who at the University of Toronto, teach. It’s been a mandate at the University of Toronto that our finest researchers are in the classroom,” she says.

Wolfson identifies the combination of academic roles as an advantage for undergraduates. “It’s not about research over here, scholarship over here, and teaching over here,” she says, “It’s the merger of those that I think enriches us all and I think that’s unique. I don’t see it as a competition between graduate and undergraduate.”

With times changing, U of T self-promotes via online platforms more than ever before. “There’s been a huge increase in the use of our website and our use of social media,” Wolfson says. “It’s a noisy world out there, and we have a continuing increase in the amount of recognition that we have. What I want to do is make that even broader. I think we need to ensure that our whole community knows that — not specific segments of the community. Now, when President Gertler travels, he tweets and makes sure that the community knows. We’re using Instagram and doing whatever we can [to get the message out],” she says.

THE UNIVERSITY IN CONTEXT

“President Gertler has made the role of the university in the city a priority,” Wolfson says proudly.

She heaps praise upon Gertler, whom she accompanies on travels. “He is seen with such respect for his scholarship and his knowledge of the field [urban geography], let alone his commitment to post-secondary education. President Gertler’s priorities are exactly right. They’re about great universities and great cities going hand in hand,” she says.

In light of U of T’s efforts to specialize, differentiation among universities comes up. In U of T’s case, this takes the form of differentiation between the three campuses. “I think you use your assets in a differentiated way and a specialized way. It’s wonderful that there’s medicine here and a branch of it at UTM. We have a campus at Scarborough that is beside what I think is one of the largest new federal national parks in the world in the Rouge Valley, and the ability to do environmental science is extraordinary,” Wolfson says.

Wolfson calls the university a “profound anchor” with a twofold mandate: to create knowledge and to transfer knowledge. “When you’re living in a community and in a city, being a part of that city means that’s also your campus. You transfer knowledge through people, and transferring that knowledge through relationships; deepening, not just broadening, international relationships, but deepening them, is a responsibility.”

PROVINCIAL FUNDING

When asked if she plans to pressure the government to increase per-student funding, Wolfson laughs. “Oh my goodness,” she says. “Well, let’s talk about student funding.”

Wolfson refers to a recent article in U of T Magazine in which Gertler claims “U of T truly defies gravity” — its rankings remain strong, while its provincial funding does not.

Ontario currently has the highest average university tuition fees and the lowest per-student funding of any Canadian province.

“I used to be in the government. I really do understand the pressures, and of course we all know about the deficit,” Wolfson says.

She has 10 years of government experience under her belt, having previously worked as a deputy minister in intergovernmental affairs, economic development, trade and tourism, and consumer and commercial relations.

To Wolfson, funding is not a matter of pressuring the government; it is about showing that funding is an investment, not an expenditure. “It’s an investment in today and it’s an investment in the future. I try and tell the story of how important it is and why this particular university needs a specific kind of funding to achieve the results that we all want,” she says.

“I think, being fair, the province understands. The issue is ‘how do you divide your revenue?’ It really is important for them to understand the outcome measures of investment in post-secondary education,” says Wolfson.

Wolfson observes that U of T contributes by producing graduates, but also as an employer of staff and students, making an enormous contribution to the economy and to the community.

“It’s not just that they’re giving and we’re taking, it’s that we’re contributing. That’s the understanding that I hope government can achieve… that this is a partnership that adds huge value to Ontario. As opposed to giving it to us to spend, they’re investing.” Wolfson says.

At half-past three, Wolfson’s assistant knocks on the door to remind her of her next engagement. “I have a meeting, but I’ve got a few minutes,” Wolfson says. “It is so important that every single student who comes has an opportunity to thrive. The more we can get that story out, the better.”