Stephen Toope

Stephen J. Toope (born 1958) is the President of the University of British Columbia, a post he assumed on July 1, 2006 for a term of five years. He was formerly the president of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.

A scholar specializing in human rights, public international law and international relations, Toope is the 12th President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia, succeeding Martha Piper, after 9 years of service. He also holds an academic position at the university as a tenured professor of law.

Education

Toope earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in History and Literature in 1979, and law degrees from McGill University in 1983. In 1987, he earned a PhD from Cambridge University and subsequently joined the faculty at McGill. [cite news
last =
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title = Tuum est, Mr. President
publisher = Ubyssey
date = 2006-03-24
url = http://www.ubyssey.bc.ca/20060324/index.html
accessdate = 2006-05-20 ]

Career

Toope was, until recently, the head of an independent, private, and non-partisan Canadian educational foundation, the Trudeau Foundation, named in honour of the late Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and his legacy. The Foundation, of which he was the first president and one of the initial founders, focuses on identifying outstanding talent in the social sciences and humanities and building a network to promote public debate on issues of societal importance. The Foundation awards five fellowships and up to 15 doctoral candidate scholarships annually to recognize outstanding achievement in the humanities and social sciences that exemplify innovative public policy approaches and a commitment to public engagement. Established in 2002, the foundation manages an endowment of more than C$140 million.

Prior to this, Toope served as dean of McGill University Faculty of Law from 1994 to 1999. He is the youngest person to have held the position. During his tenure as dean, he led the then-largest capital campaign in Canadian law faculty history to build a new Law library, and oversaw the renewal of the faculty’s curriculum.

Toope has consulted extensively to the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and to the Canadian International Development Agency. He has won publishing awards from the American Society of International Law and the Canadian Tax Foundation.

He has conducted human rights seminars for government officials in Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, and was a member of the UN observer delegation to the first post-apartheid South African elections. He has also served as Research Director, Office of the Special Representative concerning the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People in 1991.

His service to the community includes serving on the boards of non-governmental organizations that promote human rights and international development, including the Canadian Human Rights Foundation, the World University Service of Canada and the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

As the President of UBC, Toope received salary and benefits of $578,936.79 in 2007, making him the highest paid public-sector employee in British Columbia. [cite web|author=McElory, Justin|url=http://www.ubyssey.ca/?p=3113|title=Toope takes home $580,000 in 2007|work=The Ubyssey|date=2008-08-06|accessdate=2008-09-04]

University pledges

As UBC president, Toope says he hopes to work on prioritizing student learning. In particular, he wishes to create more opportunities for students to work with high-profile researchers. Issues affecting First Nations students on campus will also receive more attention, with a focus on student integration and transition into university life, as well as on trying to engage First Nations students with lower levels of education.

Toope has said he will not focus on the expansion of the university beyond UBC Okanagan.

Personal

Toope currently lives in Vancouver with his wife, Paula Rosen, and their three children. [cite web
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title = University of British Columbia names new President
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publisher = UBC Public Affairs
date = 2006-03-22
url = http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/media/releases/2006/mr-06-035.html
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doi =
accessdate = 2006-07-22]

References

External links

* [http://www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=17440 New president wants to root UBC in the city]