Professor Chris Damaren’s second term as Director, University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS), will conclude on June 30, 2026. As he is not eligible for reappointment, we will begin the process to seek approval of an Advisory Committee to the Dean for the appointment of a new Director for UTIAS, in accordance with the Policy on Appointment of Academic Administrators.
The Advisory Committee shall normally be composed as follows:
• the Dean of the Faculty or School or representative who shall chair the committee;
• three to five members of the teaching staff appointed to the Centre or Institute;
• one or two students where appropriate;
• two to four other qualified individuals, at least two of whom shall be from outside the Centre or Institute; and
• a librarian, where appropriate.
The extended deadline for the nominations for individuals to serve on the Advisory Committee is 5pm November 25, 2025. Please forward all nominations to the attention of the Dean at dean.engineering@utoronto.ca.
Thanks in advance for your thoughtful nominations and engagement in this important process.
The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering (FASE) launched a Strategic Academic Planning
(SAP) process to define its future direction and reaffirm its leadership in Canadian engineering. Led by the Vice Dean,
Strategic, and a steering committee, the initiative will articulate a clear, forward-looking academic vision that reflects FASE’s strengths, ambitions, and global impact. The steering committee included a broad representation of community members, including:
- Dean
- Vice Deans, Unit Chairs & Directors
- Faculty across career stages (early, mid, and later career) and streams (teaching and tenure stream)
- Undergraduate & Graduate students
- Accessibility advocates
- Senior administration
Consultation with Faculty members, staff, learners, alumni and partners has been ongoing since 2023, with the Faculty External Review, Facility Master Planning (FMP) and Strategic Academic Planning consultations. Throughout these consultations we invited members from across the FASE and U of T community to share their insights.
Draft Internal Strategic Academic Plan
What we heard was a strong desire to continue collaboration across the community to define a distinct identity that reflects the faculty’s strengths, ambitions and leadership role in Canadian and global engineering education.
I would like to thank everyone for their engagement, positivity, and the significant contributions that have been
considered in articulating our renewed mission, priorities, and goals. We especially thank the SAP steering committee for their dedication, guidance, and perspective.
As we work through implementation planning and drafting of the plan, we would like to provide you with another opportunity to give additional thoughts on the Strategic Academic Plan.
The survey link is available here to all FASE members to provide additional feedback on the Strategic Academic Plan content. The link will close on Oct 21, 2025, at 4:00PM EDT.
An external review of the Department of Materials Science & Engineering and its BASc, MASc, MEng and PhD programs has been scheduled for March 4‐5, 2026. Four eminent colleagues have agreed to form the review team:
- Jeffrey Grossman, PhD
Professor and former Department Chair, Materials Science & Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Leijun Li, PhD
Professor and Department Chair, Chemical and Materials Engineering
University of Alberta - Natalie Stingelin, PhD
Professor and Department Chair, Materials Science & Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology - Hatem Zurob, PhD
Professor and Department Chair, Materials Science & Engineering
McMaster University
Members of the Faculty who would like to offer comments toward this review are asked to send them via email to governance.fase@utoronto.ca.
Please circulate this memorandum to any member of the Faculty who may not have
received it through the general distribution.