Universities at the Boundary | Meric Gertler

Meric Gertler, guest · [07:46]Well, the easiest way of answering that is because no one else is responsible for that, right? It, it really is the person at the top who, is ultimately, responsible for helping the organization that they lead to understand what's happening around them and their role in, contributing to, you know, addressing the issues that arise. How, you know, the organization that they lead is perceived by those outside the organization, and how one should respond, accordingly. So university presidents occupy this really important kind of position on the boundary between the organization that they lead and the world around them. And while there are obviously other people in the university that cross that boundary regularly, no one else does it in a way that is as high profile, as visible, but also that has access to channels of influence, conversations that are less public, but that very much address the issue of the contribution that universities can or should be making, to society's challenges and, and meeting the opportunities. So it really is, you know, I became convinced quite early on that it's really an important function that university presidents, must play in keeping their eye on what's happening around them, not just right in their backyard, obviously that's very important, but in the wider world, nationally and globally, and thinking on behalf of the institution, about both, the challenges that are likely to come our way, or perhaps already confronting us, as well as the opportunities, kind of looking ahead, looking around corners, and, you know, helping the institution anticipate these and prepare for them. When I say that nobody else really has this as the sort of primary responsibility, that's a good thing in many ways because, you know, we need our colleagues to be focused on their teaching, their research, on their contributions, their administrative contributions to the large complex organizations, that we run, and they need to be able to do that and do it well, and perhaps not focus, a significant amount of their time on the things that are happening, around them. But at the same time, it's really important that the leader, I think, provides that kind of interpretation, that translation, so that, members of, the university community understand their work in that broader context. I find it fascinating to, to sort of scan, you know, global trends and world events and try to kind of make sense of What it all adds up to. Often these, these events and trends are, are contradictory and conflicting, and it often takes some time before you get clarity. But it does mean that in addition to reading all the mail that you get every day and all the reports that you get from your vice presidents and other key leaders, you also have to be reading widely in media, reading thought pieces about, you know, the nature of the economy and society and how it is changing and why.

Meric Gertler, guest · [14:59]You know, and I talked a lot about the University of Toronto embracing its identity as a city-building organization, something that we hadn't really talked about openly or explicitly before. Doesn't mean that we were not doing any city-building. In fact, we were doing a lot, both literally and figuratively. We were building a lot of buildings and, redesigning campuses and all of that. And we were doing a lot of urban teaching and a lot of urban research and a lot of outreach, but it was a bit fragmented. It was a little bit, invisible because it was so fragmented. And so, by talking about it and mobilizing, and exciting people, to kind of enlist in this project, We enhanced the kind of internal coherence of all of that work, and we, we created some new structures, including a school of cities, which, you know, really exists as a platform for collaboration between U of T faculty, students, and staff, and our partners in our, our communities, both in the Toronto region and indeed in other cities around the world. But a funny thing happened as I was talking about this, because, you know, at first I was conscious of the fact that this is a kind of urban and economic geographer president telling the university that it should be engaging in city building, an obvious thing for me to say, but equally easy for members of our community to dismiss as just a kind of hobby horse of, this geographer president. But to my delight, people really got excited and got behind the idea, and the reason was, quite simply, because everybody lives in this region, and they appreciate That anything that the university could do to make the greater Toronto area a more successful place, more prosperous, less divided, you know, less deprivation, and suffering, more inviting, more welcoming, more inclusive, ultimately that helped make the university a better place too, because it, it made it easier for us to attract and recruit great faculty, students, staff, and, frankly, instilled a sense of pride in the organization that people saw that we were really committing to this socially valuable goal. So you're right, there's a direct line between sensemaking as an abstract idea and how It was implemented, by me starting my first year, but really carrying right through, all twelve years that I was in the office.

Meric Gertler, guest · [25:13]So, There are a number of ways of answering that, and, but let me boil it down to a few simple ideas. First of all, access, opportunity, exactly what we were talking about just a minute ago. The best universities in the country need to be and need to be seen to be places where any student who's academically qualified has an opportunity to enter, has an opportunity to complete their studies and graduate and succeed. that has a number of implications for admission strategy, financial aid, and more. and again, I think many Canadian universities have tackled those challenges quite successfully. The University of Toronto, a place I know best, has had an access guarantee in place, since I think 1998. Policy enacted by the governing council, which basically says if you're good enough to get in, we will find a way to support you, and make sure you finish your studies. And that policy was really quite pivotal in not just shaping the admissions strategy of the university, but in helping to define fundraising priorities, for successive fundraising campaigns starting in the late 1990s, and continuing on to this very day. it's one of the reasons why, student financial aid and, and scholarship support for students is, I think, the most popular category of giving, for donors, to the University of Toronto. and we've, you know, raised, north of a, a one and a half billion dollars of endowment, for financial aid. That doesn't happen by accident. But that's the first point, that, that Universities, both public and private, I think, need to be seen as places where anyone who's good enough to get in can get in and can, can thrive and benefit from that, that great, experience that they have. And I hope we can continue, to uphold that goal. So that's one of the things that universities owe society. Secondly, I think universities, need to be seen as places that enable and support effective debate, discussion, disagreement about tough topics. And frankly, I think, you know, what we've seen in recent years has been a great deal of unhappiness about The failures of, or perceived failures of universities around the world to perform that function, to uphold that function. And if you unpack that a little bit, it comes down to a few kind of component ideas. One is that, we may not have done as good a job as we ought to have in, representing a diversity, a broad diversity of views on difficult issues, or discouraging, you know, we may be guilty of discouraging those who hold, non-mainstream views from expressing those views openly and honestly because they, will be worried about, you know, the kind of, implications and the kind of, you know, pejorative nature of, of the, the kind of, criticism coming their way. Secondly, that, we haven't really equipped members of our community with the ability to have those difficult conversations effectively, that, as a result, they have degraded into, you know, shouting matches, or instances where we sort of hurl slogans at one another without really seriously engaging in substantive evidence-based, debate and discussion. And so, you know, we have come to appreciate that that skill set is something, that capacity is something that we need to invest in development.

Meric Gertler, guest · [39:43]And to our horror, we discovered that U of T was the third largest, producer of greenhouse gas emissions in the broader public sector in the province of Ontario, province of fifteen million people. That's not one of those rankings you want to be near the top of, right? And so, we thought we've got to do something about this. Coming out of the, the divestment debate, I decided to create a presidential advisory committee on environment, climate change, and sustainability, comprised of faculty, students, alumni, and staff, and really the smartest thing that we did was to have two co-chairs, a professor of environmental studies, John Robinson, and, our chief operating officer for the St. George campus, Ron Saporta. So we brought theory and practice together, in the same committee. and They really deserve much of the credit for developing, a very detailed, comprehensive, and practical plan for, shrinking our carbon footprint quickly, and definitively, and having it, verified by sort of third-party, experts and fully costed. so that became the kind of blueprint, for our, I guess I can call it a strategy, for elevating our, our sustainability, performance in terms of our operations. It also became the kind of clearinghouse for great ideas about how to foster and promote sustainability education across the whole university. And they came up with this brilliant idea of sustainability pathways, where Any student in any program could overlay on top of their existing course requirements a set of courses that would give them at least basic literacy in the, the fundamental principles of sustainability, because we thought it was just so important for our students to have access to that kind of thinking and knowledge. and it started small with a couple of divisions signing on and eventually has spread so that just about every one of our undergraduate divisions, and, and a number of our graduate divisions have also, welcomed this sustainability pathways, model. We also created a platform for, faculty undertaking scholarship and research on sustainability to come together and, you know, really focus on some of the most pressing issues in a kind of interdisciplinary and collaborative way. And that was so successful that ultimately it led to, the university being able to attract a, a major gift from Brian and Joanna Lawson and their family foundation to create the, the Lawson, Climate Institute, very generous gift of sixty million dollars, which in many ways recognized the, the hard work that we had done to break down the barriers that, are so kind of, entrenched inside a university and make it easier for people to collaborate across those disciplinary boundaries. so again, it, it does take strategy, it does take, patience, determination, and persistence in order to, to get these things to happen. But having said that, you know, we moved the needle. We went from, a real laggard in this space to a leader in what, six, seven years?

Meric Gertler, guest · [47:52]Second thing is, in terms of my own approach to leadership, and you're right, there were no shortage of challenges. the, approach that I had used, which was one, which is very delegative, you know, you build a strong team around you, you empower them, To execute on their portfolio with a lot of leeway and clear direction, but you, you give them a lot of leeway. You also give them a lot of visibility, so that when they excel and succeed, they get the credit. But when things don't go so well, they also wear it and, you know, so it's a, it's a choice that one makes as a leader, and I found that to be always incredibly effective in helping one to manage the institution's way through, the kinds of challenges that, that you mentioned. But what I adjusted as we, you know, encountered some significant changes or challenges, including the ones that you alluded to, was the need to enlarge that inner circle a little bit. So, you know, you have your team of direct reports and vice presidents. And, they're incredibly important to you, but you also need to make sure that you bring in what I call insider outsiders, people who are inside the institution, but not inside the inner circle. People who have their ears to the ground, who are keeping tabs on what people are saying, feeling, seeing, hearing, and are able to kind of share that with you so that, you know, you make the kinds of decisions that need to be made while being conscious of, you know, how the organization that you lead is feeling and how these kinds of decisions are going to play on the ground. That that the ability to kind of bridge outside of your low standard circle and to make sure that you've got those kinds of insights coming from, people who are not afraid to speak truth to power and, you know, who are hearing, from voices that you may not be hearing from, or they're hearing different things from people that you might be talking to. that they have that ability and that freedom to, to provide input. I can't tell you how important that has been in helping us navigate, those kinds of challenges effectively.

Meric Gertler, guest · [55:14]Well, these are physically demanding, as well as, you know, draining of one's energy and, and kind of emotionally, demanding at times, but they're also incredibly uplifting. And while we have a tendency these days to focus on the downside and the challenges, there's so many days when you, you know, you come home at the end of the day thinking, well, What a difference we have made today, how inspiring are the stories of, you know, achievements of our students or, or faculty and staff, or the impact that we have. It's sort of, it's restorative, you know, to think about it and, and to appreciate it. So take the time to make sure that you understand the, the very beneficial impact that institutions have. It is really important to take your holidays, and, and that sounds very kind of, basic and obvious, but not only do you have to make sure that you're looking after yourself, you know, having a chance to recharge, unplug a little bit, and make sure you're in a fighting trim for, you know, when you come back to work, but you also have to model good behavior. For the people who report to you and the people who report to your, your reports. If they don't see you taking your vacations and holidays, they won't either. And you need them to be in peak form. and that really comes to the last point, which is use your team, build a great team and put them to work and empower them. And treat every day as an opportunity for collective problem solving and opportunity generating. And yes, the person at the top ultimately bears the responsibility, but you can't do it all your own. and it'd be a lot more fun if you do it, with a team that you enjoy working with and, and that enjoys working with one another.