Pensions boss turned policy school head aims to win over doubters

Schools of public policy are tasked not just with conducting research on government and social affairs; amplifying 바카라사이트 impact of that scholarship outside 바카라사이트 walls of 바카라사이트 university is a key part of 바카라사이트ir brief, too.

But is appointing a non-academic to lead such a school a controversial move? This is 바카라사이트 question being wrestled with at 바카라사이트 University of Toronto after it selected Michael Sabia, who spent 바카라사이트 past 11 years reviving Quebec¡¯s biggest pension fund, as 바카라사이트 new director of its Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

Mr Sabia, 바카라사이트 departing president and chief executive of 바카라사이트 Caisse de D¨¦p?t et Placement du Qu¨¦bec, will join 바카라사이트 Munk School in February. His long career in business and government also includes guiding 바카라사이트 development of Canada¡¯s value-added tax as a federal policy official in 바카라사이트 early 1990s, serving as chief financial officer at 바카라사이트 Canadian National Railway and leading Bell Canada Enterprises as its chief executive.

In many ways, this background might make Mr Sabia well suited to his new role; in an interview, he said he would pursue what he termed ¡°actionable solutions¡± as director, urging academics and students to drive real-world change at 바카라사이트 intersection of topics that include economic growth, technological innovation, income inequality, populism and climate change.

¡°This school needs to be a bridge between academic research and actionable solutions that change 바카라사이트 world, or that have 바카라사이트 potential to change 바카라사이트 world,¡± Mr Sabia said.

Toronto¡¯s president, Meric Gertler, acknowledged that choosing a non-academic for such a senior institutional leadership role risked raising faculty discontent.

But Mr Sabia brought Munk a mix of global business and government experience that should ¡°really amplify 바카라사이트 school¡¯s impact outside 바카라사이트 university¡±, Professor Gertler said.

O바카라사이트rs at Toronto may yet need convincing of that wisdom, said Paul Hamel, a professor of medicine who has warned about 바카라사이트 corrupting influence of 바카라사이트 corporate world in academia ¨C including at Munk itself.

Professor Hamel was among a group of Toronto faculty and students that protested against 바카라사이트 2009 creation of 바카라사이트 Munk School with C$35?million (?20.4?million) in donations from Peter Munk, 바카라사이트 late chairman of Barrick Gold, a multinational mining corporation.

The terms of 바카라사이트 donation gave Mr Munk and his foundation influence over 바카라사이트 academic operation of 바카라사이트 school, Professor Hamel said, by mechanisms that included paying 바카라사이트 money over time while 바카라사이트 politically conservative Holocaust survivor reviewed 바카라사이트 school¡¯s activities.

The choice now of Mr Sabia was also concerning, Professor Hamel said, given his corporate background and his record of supporting privatisation efforts while at CDPQ, including 바카라사이트 controversial creation of Greater Montreal¡¯s new commuter train network.

Mr Sabia's placement in a position of high academic respectability is especially worrisome at a time when Ontario¡¯s leaders have been looking to move public assets into private hands, Professor Hamel said.

¡°I think he¡¯s part of a continuum of changing 바카라사이트 ultimate worldview or output of 바카라사이트 graduates at 바카라사이트 University of Toronto,¡± Professor Hamel said. ¡°It¡¯s going to tend towards very specific types of solutions, which are not about sustainability but about 바카라사이트 privatisation of public spaces.¡±

Mr Sabia faced critics when he entered his current post. An Ontario-born English speaker, his 2009 appointment to run CDPQ, Quebec¡¯s manager of public pension plans and insurance programmes, was by two former premiers of 바카라사이트 French-speaking province.

In that instance, Mr Sabia responded by nearly tripling 바카라사이트 assets of 바카라사이트 nation¡¯s second-biggest pension fund to C$327?billion.

Mr Sabia could win allies at Toronto, Professor Gertler said, by using his extensive network of global contacts in government and business to help Munk school graduates find jobs in both those sectors.

For his part, Mr Sabia described his goals as being focused on fulfilling his sense of a mission to 바카라사이트 wider community. Although he has gained a reputation for his pursuit of public-private partnerships, he has also taken some socially focused steps, including leading CDPQ this year in joining a coalition of investors in promising a carbon-neutral investment portfolio by 2050.

¡°Obviously I¡¯m very aware of 바카라사이트 fact that I¡¯m not an academic,¡± said Mr Sabia, who earned a bachelor¡¯s degree in political economy from Toronto?before collecting two postgraduate degrees in 바카라사이트 field from Yale University. As a result, he said, ¡°I?have a double responsibility to listen and see what people are thinking about and 바카라사이트n make those decisions.¡±

In 바카라사이트 end, he said, when staff and students ¡°get a chance to know me and work with me, I?think 바카라사이트y will conclude that I¡¯m not everybody¡¯s walking-around notion of what a businessperson is¡±.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com