Cristina Amon

Dean of the University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering

Since 2006, I have served as Dean at the top-ranked engineering school in Canada and among the world’s best. We ensure students become life-long learners, with the technical competencies and global fluency to make an impact as engineering leaders. We continue to build upon our world-class curriculum, introducing minors, certificates and learning opportunities – both within and outside the classroom – that anticipate the future of our profession and address complex global challenges. This fall, we launched two Canadian “firsts”: an engineering science major in machine intelligence, and our new Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice (ISTEP).

I joined ASEE in 1989 and became a fellow in 2005. In my early years as an ASEE member, I organized and co-chaired a number of ASEE Conference Sections, served as the ASEE Campus Representative at Carnegie Mellon University from 1993 to 1997, participated in the Women In Engineering Division WIED since 2002 and the Committee on Multidisciplinary Engineering since 2003, and served in the Ralph Coats Roe Award Selection Committee Member from 2002 to 2005.

ASEE has provided me with truly valuable resources at all stages of my career. From professional connections I have made early in my academic career to excellent venues for our scholarly publications in engineering education innovations*, from information on advances in engineering pedagogies to developments at other Universities, I have gained a wealth of inspiration and knowledge by being a member, participant and contributor to the ASEE community. More recently, since becoming Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto, I have participated in the Engineering Deans Council (EDC), serving also in the ASEE-EDC Executive Board from 2007 to 2009 and its Nominating and Diversity Committees. I have been fortunate to receive several prestigious ASEE awards at different stages of my academic career, including the 1995 ASEE NCS Outstanding Teacher Award, the 1996 ASEE NCS and Zone II Outstanding Campus Representative Awards, the 1997 ASEE George Westinghouse Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Engineering Education, and the 2002 ASEE Ralph Coats Roe Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Engineering Profession.

ASEE has also been instrumental in the support that provided when we launched the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC) in 2008, an organization inspired by the ASEE-EDC to expand globally its remarkable benefits. I had the privilege to serve as the founding chair of the GEDC in 2008. GEDC has flourished from 24 to over 300 Engineering Dean members world-wide, and is celebrating the 10th anniversary this year.

*Ambrose, S. and Amon, C.H., Systematic Design of a First-Year Mechanical Engineering Course at Carnegie Mellon University, ASEE J. Engineering Education, Vol. 86(2), pp. 173-181, 1997.

An ongoing priority for our Faculty is deepening our diversity and culture of inclusion with a strong feeling of belonging. We are enhancing gender diversity and working towards increasing gender equity as well as representation from Indigenous, Black and other communities. We believe that diverse perspectives and ideas strengthen our engineering creative process, catalyzes innovation and most importantly, fosters a stronger sense of openness, inclusion and community at U of T Engineering and beyond. For the last three years, women have made up around 40% of our incoming undergraduate cohort, the highest proportion of any Canadian engineering school. Across all four years of study and PEY internship, our undergraduate body is now more than 35% women.

ASEE has a rich history of advocating for greater diversity in higher education through initiatives, policies and practices. We all benefit tremendously from these efforts. With a coordinated and continued focus on diversity, we can achieve greater representation, diversity and inclusion in our programs and our engineering profession.