Endowed Chairs and Affiliated Centres
The School for Public Policy and Democratic Innovation is forging partnerships with several centres, institutes and chairs at TMU which have public policy and democracy mandates and agendas to provide unique experiential learning and applied research opportunities for students and community leaders.
Jarislowsky Democracy Chair
This research chair in the study of the advancement of democracy was made possible thanks to a generous donation from the Jarislowsky Foundation. The Chair brings thought leadership and public profile to pressing issues around democracy. Dr. Sanjay Ruparelia currently serves as Jarislowsky Chair.
“Now is the right time and [TMU] is the right place for a Chair to lead the study of democracy and propose new structures and reforms to meet the emerging challenges of society,” says Stephen A. Jarislowsky, president of The Jarislowsky Foundation. “[TMU]’s reputation for innovation and its deep commitment to an engaged citizenship in Toronto and beyond make it a strategic choice for this impactful position.”
UNIFOR Chair
The mandate of the Unifor National Chair in Social Justice and Democracy — the first union-endowed chair at a Canadian university — is to create a hub of interaction between social justice activists and academics at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Past UNIFOR Chairs
Kiké Roach
Kiké Roach was the Unifor National Chair in Social Justice and Democracy, where she taught courses in Human Rights, and Social Movements and Politics.
As a civil rights lawyer, she fought against state-sanctioned violence and abuse of power for many years, representing organizations like the Black Action Defense Committee, and the Community Alliance for Social Justice. She was assistant counsel in a successful electoral law case before the Supreme Court of Canada.
Winnie Ng
Prior to her appointment in 2011 as the Canadian Auto Workers-Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy (UNIFOR National Chair in Social Justice and Democracy), Ng was the acting Executive Director of the Labour Education Centre.
She was the labour co-chair of Good Jobs for All Coalition, an executive member of the Asian Canadian Labour Alliance and a board member of Labour Community Services. Winnie received numerous distinctions including the Urban Alliance on Race Relations’ Leadership Award, the United Farm Workers’ Cesar Chavez Black Eagle Award and the YWCA Women of Distinction Award.
Affiliated Centres
