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Dear OISE Community,

As we begin the fall term, I would like to welcome the newest members of our OISE professoriate and acknowledge some recent prestigious appointments. I know that our OISE community will make these individuals feel most welcome in their new or renewed roles, and we are very fortunate to have these highly accomplished colleagues contributing to the work of our institute.

Special Advisor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion 

I am delighted to announce that University Professor Maydianne Andrade will be in residence at OISE for 2024-2025 as Special Advisor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. An internationally renowned scientist, Professor Andrade brings significant expertise in and commitment to science, science communication, and EDI issues through her award-winning research in biology and animal behavior, her experience as (former) Vice Dean Faculty Affairs & Equity at UTSC, her work as founder and co-Chair of the Toronto Initiative for Diversity and Excellence (TIDE, ), and as co-founder and inaugural President of the Canadian Black Scientists Network (). Over the course of her year with us at OISE, she will give a keynote address; facilitate workshops/seminars for members of the OISE community on EDI issues across various disciplines to help us better understand and deepen our collective capacity around areas of focus emerging from our academic planning process; and consult with senior leadership, the Equity Committee of our Faculty Council, and OISE staff members whose work is focused on EDI. 

William G. Davis Chair in Community College Leadership 

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Samuel Lucas at the rank of Professor, with tenure, in the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education, effective September 3, 2024. Professor Lucas will also hold the William G. Davis Chair in Community College Leadership for a five-year term from September 3, 2024 to August 31, 2029. This prestigious appointment has been made on the advice of the Davis Chair search committee.

The Davis Chair was established in 1999 to support and recognize distinguished and relevant expertise in Community College Leadership in OISE’s Higher Education program. The purpose of the chair is to build capacity in Ontario’s community college sector and to contribute more broadly to scholarship, policy and practice in the college sector in Canada and in international scholarly and practitioner communities.

Professor Lucas earned a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994 and joined the Sociology Department of the University of California-Berkeley, where he has held the rank of Full Professor since 2010. An internationally renowned scholar, Professor Lucas has also held visiting appointments at Harvard University, the Czech Academy of Sciences, and Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. He is best known for his theory of Effectively Maintained Inequality (EMI), which has had an enormous impact in the fields of sociology and education. Professor Lucas’s publications include four books in addition to numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and he has contributed to important U.S. National Academy reports on inequality in education. His research includes investigation into the construction of equal pathways to college within an effectively maintained inequality society, and he has a well-developed plan to extend his program of research to the Canadian higher education context, in particular, the unique and important role of colleges. Professor Lucas has also been recognized as a leader in research methodology, receiving, in 2015, a Spencer Foundation Mid-Career Award for “Advancing Tools for Advanced Social Science Research: Symbolic Mathematics, Agent-Based Modeling, Computer Programming, and Video Effects.” In addition to his undergraduate teaching, Professor Lucas has taught graduate courses in research methods, sociology of education, social stratification and class analysis, and the sociology of discrimination, and has supervised graduate theses at the Master’s and doctoral levels.

President’s Chair in Education and Knowledge Technologies

I am very pleased to announce that Professor James Slotta’s appointment as President’s Chair in Education and Knowledge Technologies has been renewed for a second five-year term from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2029. This prestigious appointment has been made on the advice of an OISE-wide review committee.  

The President's Chair in Education and Knowledge Technologies was established in 2000 with a mandate to "contribute significantly to the body of scholarship on education and knowledge technologies." Designated for an OISE scholar, the President's Chair embodies the commitment of three former University of Toronto Presidents to foster research and innovation in education and knowledge technologies as a means to improve learning and teaching at all levels of the education system.

Professor Slotta joined OISE in 2005, following an extensive research background in cognitive science and web technologies. He held the Canada Research Chair in Education and Technology from 2006 to 2015, and has held the President’s Chair since 2019. Over the course of his career, Professor Slotta has developed and advanced a new pedagogical model called Knowledge Community and Inquiry (KCI), in response to emerging media and on a foundation of knowledge building and learning communities. His research lab has produced important local, national, and international collaborations with partners ranging from schoolteachers to researchers in science, mathematics, engineering, and health sciences. As President’s Chair, Professor Slotta has expanded this network of scholars, practitioners, and technology developers to advance the Chair’s mandate by promoting a thriving lab community, increased research collaborations, and new opportunities for educational change.  

In addition to Professor Lucas, four outstanding faculty members are joining OISE in a tenure stream capacity as a result of successful searches in 2023-24. My gratitude goes out to the Chairs, members, and support staff of the search committees for their important work. I am delighted to announce the following appointments:

Assistant Professor, Clinical and Counselling Psychology

Dr. Ellen Gutowski begins a tenure stream appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, effective August 1, 2024. Dr. Gutowski joined APHD as a CLTA Assistant Professor in 2021, after completing a PhD in Counselling Psychology at Boston College and a clinical residency in Health Services Psychology at the Emory University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on intimate partner violence. She is particularly committed to understanding how systems-level responses to those affected may either promote well-being or cause harm and to understanding how providers and systems can be trauma-informed and anti-oppressive. Dr. Gutowski’s publication record includes 17 peer-reviewed articles and 5 book chapters. She holds a SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant on Understanding the Counselling and Psychotherapy Experiences of Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence, and has been co-investigator on grants dealing with intimate partner violence in relation to the courts and COVID-19. Dr. Gutowski has taught graduate courses in Research Methods and Theories and Techniques of Counselling and Psychotherapy, and has sat on several thesis committees for PhD, EdD, and MA students.

Assistant Professor, Science Education

Dr. Rishi Krishnamoorthy begins a tenure stream appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, effective July 1, 2024. Dr. Krishnamoorthy received a PhD in Science Education from NYU in 2021. Following an appointment as a postdoctoral research associate at Rutgers University in 2021-22, they served as an Assistant Professor of Science Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Penn State University from 2022 to 2024. Informed by Indigenous ways of knowing, feminist new materialism, and postcolonial theory, their scholarship in science education and the learning sciences investigates how power dynamics shape learning environments and science phenomena inside and outside of classroom settings. Dr. Krishnamoorthy’s publication record includes 8 peer-reviewed articles, 10 peer-reviewed conference proceedings, and 2 book chapters. They have taught a broad range of graduate and undergraduate courses on science teaching, issues in science, and critical approaches to research methodology.

Assistant Professor, Language Teaching and Learning in Multilingual Settings

Dr. Ashley Moore begins a tenure stream appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, effective January 1, 2025. Dr. Moore received a PhD in Teaching English as a Second Language from UBC in 2022, building on a professional background teaching English in Japan and serving as Director of the Language Learning Center of Osaka Institute of Technology from 2012 to 2017. Since 2022, he has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at Boston University. His research interests include the realisation of queer/trans-affirming language education, linguistic dissociation, critical language teacher education, and critical realist research methodology. Dr. Moore’s publications include 13 journal articles, 4 book chapters, and 3 language textbooks. He has taught courses in the areas of TESL and TEFL, Literacy Practices & Assessment, Critical Applied Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication.

Assistant Professor, Language Teaching and Learning in Multilingual Settings

Dr. Shakina Rajendram begins a tenure stream appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, effective August 1, 2024. Dr. Rajendram received a PhD in Language and Literacies Education from OISE in 2019. She brings a diverse teaching background, having previously worked as a K-12 and ESL educator and curriculum developer in Malaysia, and an ESL and EAP instructor in Canada. From 2020 to 2024, she was an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream (CLTA) in CTL. Dr. Rajendram's research explores the intersection of critical multilingual pedagogies and teacher education, with a focus on supporting linguistically and racially minoritized multilingual learners. Her current research projects centre around preparing pre-service and in-service teachers to implement anti-racist translanguaging pedagogies in multilingual K-12 classrooms in Canada, and innovating multilingual education in under-resourced language teaching contexts in Southeast Asia. In CTL, she has taught courses in the areas of Second Language Teaching Methodologies, Planning and Organizing the Second Language Curriculum, and Supporting English Language Learners.

Please join me in congratulating all of these new and returning colleagues on their appointments and in welcoming them to our OISE community!

Warm regards,

Erica

Erica N. Walker
Professor and Dean
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University of Toronto