U of T president goes back to undergrad

Image by: Dave Lee

David Naylor, U of T’s new president, spent his first day on the job attending classes and will continue to do so for the rest of the week at all three of U of T’s campuses. He will also be going to basketball practice and talking to students in the cafeterias. He told the Toronto Star he was doing this to get an idea of “how the university looks and feels for students.”

The student experience became a focal point for the school after U of T received a low score on the National Survey of Student Engagement, a survey Queen’s topped out of the Canadian schools involved. Naylor will be getting a first-hand look at what it’s like to sit in a physics class or a Canadian politics class. While attending these classes he will be able to judge how effective they are, how comfortable the students are, and simply remind himself of what undergraduate life is all about.

Student engagement may not be such a problem at a residential school like Queen’s, but for a university with a student enrolment of 70,000, 80 per cent of whom commute from off campus, it is particularly challenging. Naylor is taking the necessary steps to make the students feel like they’re a part of the university, and not simply a source of revenue.

His appearance among students on the three campuses will make him a more noticeable figure at U of T. It will also eliminate the image of the administration residing in an ivory tower, separate from the students. This is a sign of camaraderie, a message to the students, telling them that the administration is on their side and interested in their concerns.

Naylor acknowledges that his week-long attendance in various classes will not be enough. He said, “I’m under no illusion that a few days’ biopsy will yield a complete understanding of the university and its students.” Although this is true, the fact that Naylor is making a sincere effort to engage students shows them that there is a real-life, concerned person behind all the decisions made and that the administration cares.

We encourage other university leaders to take a cue from David Naylor and make understanding student issues a priority.

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

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