Professor Meric S. Gertler
President, University of Toronto

cordially invites you to a reception for University of Toronto alumni and friends, featuring a special presentation:

The State and Stakes of Civil Discourse on Campus and Beyond

by

Professor Randy Boyagoda
Vice-Dean, Undergraduate
Professor English Department
Faculty of Arts and Science
Provostial Advisor on Civil Discourse
University of Toronto

What is the state and stakes of civil discourse, on campus and beyond? Novelist and professor Randy Boyagoda is the University of Toronto’s first-ever advisor on civil discourse. In this lecture, he will discuss the university’s role, right, and responsibility for sustaining a culture of civil discourse on campus, for faculty and students alike. Situating the current need in broader historical and cultural contexts, Professor Boyagoda will propose that a robust and confident culture of civil discourse is for the greater good of all concerned, when it comes to promoting mutual understanding, serving the greater good, and the pursuit of truth. 

Novelist and professor Randy Boyagoda is the university’s newly-appointed advisor on civil discourse.

He is the author of six books, including four novels, and regularly contributes opinions and reviews to publications including the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Financial Times of London, and the Globe and Mail. A past president of PEN Canada, Professor Boyagoda has also served as Principal of St. Michael’s College, Acting Vice-Provost, Faculty & Academic Life, and is currently Vice-Dean Undergraduate, in the Faculty of Arts and Science. An alumnus of the University, Professor Boyagoda lives in the east end of the city with his wife and four daughters.