Professor Margaret Kohn has been appointed as Chair of the Department of Political Science for a 5-year term beginning 1 July 2020. Professor James Donaldson has been appointed as Vice Dean, Recruitment, Enrolment & Student Success for a 3-year term beginning 1 May 2020 and can be reached at vdrecruit.enrol.utsc@utoronto.ca. Professor Katie Larson has been appointed as Vice Dean, Teaching, Learning & Undergraduate Programs for 4-year term beginning 1 July 2020. I am very pleased that Professors Kohn, Donaldson, and Larson have agreed to take on these important administrative roles.

Zahra Bhanji has been appointed the new Director of the Dean’s Office at UTSC.  She will assume senior responsibilities for issues that span all academic units at UTSC, including the establishment of effective procedures, protocols, guidelines, and structures. Reporting to the Vice-Principal Academic & Dean, Zahra will remain an integral member of the senior management team and work closely with the Vice-Deans and other members of the decanal leadership, to ensure that UTSC meets the opportunities stemming from the Strategic Plan. She will have leadership oversight on administrative, human resource, financial, and strategic matters. Zahra will be starting her new role on March 23 and splitting her time between the OVPD and the OVPR until April 13, after which she will be full time with the OVPD. Please join me in welcoming Zahra to her new role.
 
The Academic HR Contacts on the OVPD website have been updated. Please check the webpage when you have questions.

A quick reminder that the Faculty Complement Committee (FCC) is meeting on 6 March for an all-day meeting -- the Agenda can be found here. The CAD meeting originally scheduled for 6 March has been cancelled.
 

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Teaching Grants
Consider applying for a teaching grant. See full details of the grant categories and get access to the application form. Deadline: Monday, March 9, 2020.

2020 Postdoctoral Fellowship
The deadline quickly approaches for applications for the 2020 Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Complete nomination packages should be submitted to postdoc-awards@utsc.utoronto.ca by 5:00pm on Monday, 23 March 2020. Applicants must be nominated by their Faculty to SGS. Potential nominees interested in the Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program should contact the nominating supervisor. Supervisors wishing to support a candidate’s application must contact their graduate unit/department Chair. Please share widely with faculty in your departments/academic centres.

Access Programs University Fund (APUF) (PDAD&C #37)
The Access Programs University Fund (APUF) is calling for proposals for the 2020-21 academic year. The APUF provides resources to help campuses, divisions, and departments develop and enhance programs dedicated to providing opportunities and support for students who would otherwise not have access to, or succeed in, post-secondary education. It supports two levels of grant activities: Seed ($5,000 - $25,000) and Expand/Sustain/Build ($15,000 - $100,000). Seed applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Expand/Sustain/Build applications are due on 30 April 2020. Full details, including an online application, can be found here.

UTSC Clusters of Scholarly Prominence Program (CSPP)
The purpose of the UTSC Clusters of Scholarly Prominence Program (CSPP) is to provide UTSC faculty with a mechanism to help pursue the creation of self-sustaining, interdisciplinary, inter-departmental, collaborative clusters of scholarship in areas of established and emerging research strength at UTSC that have a demonstrable capacity to augment UofT’s global standing through prominence in research, creative activity and exceptional learning. Full details and application forms are available on the OVPR website. The Notice of Interest (NOI) deadline is 4 May 2020; the deadline for the submission of full proposals is 15 June 2020. An information session will be held on 23 March from 1:00 - 2:00 pm in IC318 -- please register with Kristine Peruzzi. Contact Shaun Young if you have any questions.

Additional Funding Opportunities

• Experiential Learning Funding -- deadline: 31 March 2020. Full details can be found on DCD #3.

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• Coronavirus Updates -- The University of Toronto has set up a webpage about Coronavirus and any updates that have been sent out. Please check out the page for updates.
• National Survey of Student Engagement 2020 (PDAD&C #31) -- In the coming weeks, the University of Toronto, along with all Ontario universities and Canadian peer institutions, will participate in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). NSSE begins 11 February and will invite undergraduates from select Faculties to participate. We are asking that you encourage your faculty and staff to promote this survey widely. Survey fatigue can significantly and negatively affect response rates. For this reason, we ask that you refrain from conducting surveys of first and fourth-year undergraduate students between 8 February and 29 March.
• Principal's Awards Nominations -- The nomination process for the 2020 Principal’s Awards is now open. The Principal’s Service Excellence Awards have been revamped including the names of the awards and eligibility for each of the categories. Full details can be found by clicking on the image below. Note: The deadline for submissions has been extended to 13 March 2020.