The University of St. Michael’s College (USMC) announced the appointment of Randy Boyagoda as its new Principal and Vice President, effective July 1, 2016. Boyagoda is an accomplished writer and academic, with bylines in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times (UK) and the Globe and Mail, he has most recently served as the Director of Zone Learning at Ryerson University, an experiential learning program modeled on business incubators that support the rapid creation of new companies and social organizations led by students, USMC said in a press release.
“I’m very happy and honoured to join the University of St. Michael’s College,” said Boyagoda. “My first class at the University of Toronto was at St. Mike’s, and I also fondly remember attending Mass at St. Basil’s with my friends. Given the rich and distinguished history of the College and its important relationships to the University of Toronto, St. Michael’s is an institution like no other in North America. As an academic leader, as a teacher, and as a Catholic intellectual, scholar, and writer, I look forward to being part of this community and helping contribute to its exciting future.”
Prior to taking on his role as the Director of Zone Learning at Ryerson, Boyagoda has held positions as Chair of the English department and professor of American Studies at Ryerson, and also as a postdoctoral fellow and assistant professor of English at the University of Notre Dame.
“Gifted writer, an Amazing Teacher”
“I am delighted to welcome Randy to our University community,” said President David Mulroney. “He is a gifted writer, an amazing teacher and someone who knows how to inspire students to go out and make a difference.”
In addition to his acclaimed novels, Boyagoda has written extensively on human experience in contemporary literature, culture and current affairs, often from a religiously-informed vantage. As a regular contributor to The New York Times and CBC Radio, he has created natural and necessary bridges between the sacred and the secular. Through his recently published biography of the influential Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, he has established himself as a leading Catholic intellectual voice in North America.
As the new Principal and Vice President, Boyagoda will be the academic head of USMC’s undergraduate division, which has some 5000 students, and also constitutes one of the largest undergraduate colleges in the Faculty of Arts and Science in the University of Toronto. He therefore serves as a senior administrator of both universities. Professor Boyagoda, who will hold his tenure in the Department of English at the University of Toronto, will also teach in the Christianity and Culture program, and has been named to the Basilian Chair in Christianity, Arts and Letters.
Ryerson University President Mohamed Lachemi attests to Boyagoda’s accomplishments. “Professor Randy Boyagoda was instrumental in Ryerson’s expansion of zone learning, including curriculum development and encouraging cross-collaboration across the university,” said Lachemi. “Randy made great contributions to Ryerson as a scholar, administrator and community member. We wish him the best in his new role.”
Boyagoda lives with his wife and four children in the Beaches, where he is an active member of Corpus Christi parish.
The University of St. Michael’s College (USMC), federated with the University of Toronto, is a Catholic institution of higher learning founded by the Congregation of St. Basil, whose motto, “Teach me goodness, discipline and knowledge,” sets the tone for campus life. St. Michael’s was expanded through cooperation with the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Sisters of Loretto. Committed to the pursuit of knowledge, meaning and truth, USMC is a dynamic centre where the Catholic intellectual tradition thrives in a context of academic freedom and rigorous debate. As such, it seeks to provide an environment that fosters the intellectual, moral and spiritual development of its members. The University of St. Michael’s College boasts a large and dynamic undergraduate division, an acclaimed Faculty of Theology and one of the busiest and most important libraries on the University of Toronto Campus
