缅北强奸

Joseph Wong appointed 缅北强奸鈥檚 vice-president, international

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(Photo by Johnny Guatto)

Joseph Wong, a leading political scientist and scholar of global affairs who has played a key role in advancing the University of Toronto鈥檚 internationalization strategy, has been appointed vice-president, international for a five-year term.

The appointment, which takes effect April 7, 2021 through June 30, 2026, was approved by the university鈥檚 Governing Council Tuesday and follows a comprehensive international search.

A professor of political science and the Roz and Ralph Halbert Professor of Innovation at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, Wong was appointed 缅北强奸鈥檚 interim vice-president, international during the pandemic鈥檚 first wave last summer.

鈥淧rofessor Wong took on the role in an interim capacity at an extremely challenging time for international students, researchers and partnerships,鈥 said 缅北强奸 President Meric Gertler, who chaired the search committee. 鈥淥ver the past nine months, he has done a phenomenal job of supporting international students here and around the world, fostering a global outlook in the 缅北强奸 community and enhancing the university鈥檚 reputation both at home and abroad.

鈥淚 am delighted Professor Wong will continue to lead this vital portfolio.鈥

During his first few months as interim vice-president, international, Wong worked closely with 缅北强奸鈥檚 vice-provost, students, to rethink supports for international students who weren鈥檛 able to travel to Toronto because of COVID-related restrictions, or who needed help navigating public-health guidelines upon arrival in Canada.

That includes helping arriving international students quarantine at local hotels, where they receive staff support to self-isolate for two weeks, including meals delivered to their door.

鈥淚t required a lot of collaboration between our offices,鈥 Wong said. 鈥淢ore than 2,700 students have gone through 缅北强奸鈥檚 quarantine program and there hasn鈥檛 been a single case of reported transmission. It truly is seen as the gold standard.

鈥淲e鈥檙e dedicated to supporting our international students, irrespective of whether they are coming here to Toronto or if they need support on the other side of the world.鈥

Before arriving in 缅北强奸鈥檚 international office, Wong held a series of key senior academic leadership positions. He was director of 缅北强奸鈥檚 Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy for almost a decade and the university鈥檚 first-ever associate vice-president and vice-provost, international student experience 鈥 a role in which he helped boost international learning opportunities for 缅北强奸 students.

In fact, the number of undergraduate students who travelled abroad for their studies or research was on track to hit 26 per cent before COVID-19 struck last year. That鈥檚 up 14 per cent from 2016.

When it comes to bolstering future international opportunities, Wong says he intends to 鈥渉it the ground running鈥 once the pandemic is finally brought under control and restrictions on travel are lifted.

As a political scientist, Wong has advised governments in Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe on public policy issues, and is the author of dozens of articles in leading journals and several books, with two forthcoming from Princeton University Press and Cambridge University Press. He holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree from McGill University and a master鈥檚 and doctorate from the University of Wisconsin 鈥 Madison.

His current research focuses on poverty and innovation in the Global South.

In 2015, Wong launched the Reach Project, now known as , a student-led interdisciplinary collaboration with faculty across 缅北强奸 to study and develop innovative development programs for the world鈥檚 most marginalized populations.

Reach students have conducted in-depth and on-the-ground research on topics ranging from a poverty-reduction program in Palestine to cash transfers to address food insecurity in Ethiopia. The includes speakers from the Brookings Institution, Deloitte and the World Health Organization. In the spring of last year, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth pledged US$2 million for Reach, with 缅北强奸 adding US$500,000 in funding.

Wong was also instrumental in the success of the , which brought more than 60 talented students from sub-Saharan Africa to 缅北强奸 on full scholarships.

In his own seminars at the Munk School, Wong has piloted a 鈥済lobal classroom鈥 approach by inviting 缅北强奸 students to work with their peers at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (Tecnol贸gico de Monterrey). The lessons with Tec de Monterrey focused on COVID-19 and inequality, with student projects on comparative government responses and the issue of trust in Canadian and Mexican society.

鈥淚 think our students at 缅北强奸 got a deep appreciation for the level of inequality in Mexico and the lived reality of many in Mexico who are really impoverished and living in circumstances that are quite different from anything we would see here in Canada, and what challenges this presents amidst a pandemic,鈥 Wong said. 鈥淚t was really eye-opening, I think.鈥

He said the university plans to support the expansion of the 鈥済lobal classroom鈥 concept to other courses with a new funding stream, and that more than 50 proposals have already been submitted from across the three campuses in a variety of disciplines, from the humanities to math. Proposed institutional partners are based on 鈥渆very continent but Antarctica,鈥 Wong said.

He added that, despite the strain that COVID has put on international travel, partnerships with other institutions around the world actually increased in the last year.

Wong said one of his key priorities as vice-president, international will be to develop partnership networks in the Global South, including Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia, with the help and input of faculty who work in these regions.

He also plans to support students, faculty and staff working toward the vision of a brighter future set out in the United Nations鈥 Sustainable Development Goals.

鈥淪tudents are our future global leaders,鈥 Wong said. 鈥淲e have an opportunity to be cultivating global leadership talent that is invested and committed to a better world.鈥

UTC