Newly appointed, deeply experienced: Meet UTM's VP, academic and dean

William Gough may be newly appointed, but he’s no rookie.

Gough’s recent appointment as vice-principal, academic and dean, at the University of Toronto Mississauga comes after having held the interim position since the fall of 2024.

Before that, he spent more than 30 years with the University of Toronto Scarborough, with the last eight of those as UTSC’s VP, academic and dean, as well as terms as vice-dean of faculty and vice-dean of graduate education and program development.

Through his various roles, which also include serving as governor on U of T’s Governing Council executive and elections’ committees, Gough said he’s done a lot of learning that informs his strategy for making improvements.

“My approach has been, let's find out what’s missing first, then improve it – incrementally,” said Gough, who was recently appointed to his position at UTM for a five-year term.

Gough brought that thoughtful, methodical approach to his portfolio over the past year, which included a plan to grow UTM’s co-op internship program.

“We have set a goal to have 1,000 new UTM students in co-op per year, but right now, we're about 250 students per year,” he said.

“I wanted slow, sustained growth, so that's why we did a 10-year plan with an incremental number of students per year. We didn’t want to go any faster than that because to develop employer-employee relationships properly takes time.”

Gough has also put careful consideration into the curriculums in place at UTM, making that one of his key priorities during his first 20 months at the university.

That came after he helped lead the most recent curriculum review at UTSC, which highlighted a need to expand responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action.

“It was not just about Indigeneity, but underrepresented group perspectives overall,” said Gough of the work at UTSC.

“We need to be moving away from a Eurocentric curriculum to something broader and more inclusive, and that’s something I wanted to continue here.”

In addition to integration across programs, UTM is focusing on creating a dedicated Indigenous Studies program, which Gough hopes will go before governance next year.

Another one of Gough’s top priorities is addressing the use of AI for both students and faculty. That comes as advancing responsible AI adoption at scale has been outlined as one of three commitments announced by President Melanie Woodin.

“The world has changed so much and we're embarking on yet another massive challenge,” said Gough, who holds a BSc in physics from the University of Waterloo, an MSc in physics from the University of Toronto, and a PhD in atmospheric and oceanic sciences from McGill University.

“How do we interface with artificial intelligence? How do we embrace it and use it effectively? Then there's the academic integrity issue: How do we ensure that AI isn’t a substitution for student work?”

He cites motivation from the 2008 song “Human” by The Killers, which includes the lyric “Are we human or are we dancer” – a quote inspired by author and journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

“Even though the song was written in 2008 and probably reflected other societal pressures, to me it's like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is the AI song,’” Gough said.

“Dancer is the metaphor for just mindlessly doing things, never out of step – but that’s not being human. So, how do we make sure that that component is preserved, valued, taught, revered and not lost? We have to be intentional.”

And that, he said, underpins his approach to change management, informed by his own experience growing up.

“One parent was a dynamic personality, walks into the room, lights up the room, all the attention is on him. That was my dad,” Gough said.

“My mom was quiet, thoughtful, intelligent. She would go in, learn a job, and then within six months go to her supervisor and say, ‘Would you consider changing this, this and this?’ and revamp the process, and get promoted – over and over again.”

It’s the influence of his father – an English major who also inspired in Gough a love of Jane Austen novels – that he brings to class, said Gough, who has been a faculty member in UTSC’s department of physical and environmental sciences since 1993, in addition to overseeing graduate students.

“As a professor, I'm a performer,” said Gough, who is also a preeminent researcher in climate change in the Eastern Arctic, Southwestern Ontario and Toronto.

“Last week I was at convocation and the speaker didn't show up. I was asked to step in at the last minute, so I did it. I can do that. That's my dad's side.”

But when it comes to administration, Gough said, he adopts his mother’s more methodical approach.

“As administrator, I like to come in, learn the systems as they are, and then, like my mom, it just becomes clear to me how things could change to be better.”