Temerty Medicine promotes 164 faculty members

The Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto has promoted 164 candidates to the rank of professor or associate professor. 

Fifty-five faculty members were promoted to professor, while 109 were promoted to associate professor. Candidates are promoted based on achievements in their academic fields and contributions to the university. 

The promotions take effect on July 1, 2024, and a list of promoted faculty members posted on the Temerty Medicine website.  

Upton Allen led the review process in his inaugural year as decanal promotion committee chair. The paediatrics professor and head of the division of infectious diseases at The Hospital for Sick Children has previously served as a committee member. He succeeded psychiatry professor and long-time chair Mary Jane Esplen, who served as chair from 2016 to 2023. 

Temerty Medicine Interim Dean Patricia Houston offered her congratulations to the successful candidates, and thanked Allen for his leadership and committee members for their contributions. 

“Upton has done a commendable job of steering this committee, upholding the highest standards and assuring that the promotion process remains anchored in excellence and academic integrity,” she said.  

Houston also thanked the committee members. “They have been instrumental in shaping the future of the Temerty Medicine community, and ensuring deserving candidates are recognized and supported in their professional growth,” she said. 

Allen extended his thanks to Temerty Medicine community for their contributions the application and review process. 

“I want to recognize the tremendous work done by the departmental promotion committees, and departmental chairs and staff,” he said. “I also want to recognize the superb work of the decanal promotion committee, who contributed time and effort to review these applications.”  

Allen noted the growing number of applications that featured creative professional activity, and equity, diversity, inclusion, Indigeneity and accessibility (EDIIA) statements. 

The promotions process is undergoing changes to update the criteria for consideration. This includes enhancing the definition and assessment of creative professional activity, or CPA, which is among the main criteria for senior promotion, along with research, education and leadership or administration. 

Creative professional activity spans many areas, and can include quality improvement innovations in health care, development of educational programs inside or outside the university, advocacy and policy work, and media and public outreach. 

“Overwhelmingly, we are seeing candidates who are actively engaged in CPA, often in combination with excellence in research, teaching or education,” Allen said. 

This year, CPA played a role in 64 per cent of successful promotions, and 12 per cent of successful candidates included a statement about their EDIIA activities. 

In traditional criteria, 29 per cent of applicants reported excellence in research, and 7 per cent of applicants were promoted based on excellence in teaching and education.  

“It is refreshing to see applicants focused specifically on excellence in teaching and education alone,” Allen said. “We want to encourage and reward teachers for the great job they are doing,” 

Allen also noted the gap is closing for gender parity. Thirty women were among the 55 candidates promoted to full professor, while male applicants led slightly in the associate professor promotions.  

“Looking at the overall total, it was fifty-fifty, which is a great improvement from many years ago.” 

Looking ahead, Allen says that the promotion committee will continue to seek ways to modernize the review process.  

“We are eager to work with the Faculty to identify opportunities for efficiencies that will result in an equally rigorous review process, but one that is perhaps less labour-intensive.” 

Allen congratulated the successful applicants and offered advice about the road ahead. 

“The journey on the pathway of academic excellence doesn’t stop with being promoted,” he said. “With this achievement comes the next step of educating and mentoring the next generation to uphold the academic excellence of the university.”