Get to know our Culture & Inclusion and Academic Affairs Officer
Colin Gibson feels like he’s worked almost every job that can be done at the University of Toronto (save for custodial work and accounting) prior to landing his current role in the Department of Medicine (DoM) as the Culture & Inclusion and Academic Affairs Officer.
In his role, Colin has two main responsibilities: senior promotions and the Culture & Inclusion committee (and its attendant subcommittees). Senior promotions (i.e. achieving and appointment rank of Associate Professor or higher) at the University of Toronto (U of T) is a very robust, multi-year review process, involving dozens of faculty members and staff for each candidate, so this part of the job keeps him quite busy.
“Most faculty will interact with me at some point along their journey to becoming full professor and I love getting to know all the amazing folks in our ranks,” he says.
The other half of Colin’s job is the Culture & Inclusion portfolio, which is a large, faculty-led committee whose work is very diverse but can be best summed up by their stated mission statement: To support the well-being of each member of the DoM while taking actionable steps to identify and address systemic barriers and move toward an equitable society. The group does so by leading faculty development workshops, events and initiatives to elevate and support equity and diversity within the department.
“The thing I enjoy most about my job is working with so many amazingly smart people to tackle big, thorny problems,” says Colin. “There’s so much brilliance and creativity in our department; I find myself in awe of our people every single day.”
Working with the Culture & Inclusion committee is one aspect of his job that he’s most passionate about.
“Following the pandemic, physician wellness, burnout and career development have become more pertinent and I consider my work in this area to be really meaningful in supporting these wonderful physicians,” he says. “They have very challenging jobs and if I can help them find meaning or rejuvenation, then I consider that a noble cause.”
Colin says that working in a healthcare setting feels oddly familiar to him as his mother has worked in healthcare for most of her life (and still does). He has vivid memories of hanging out in hospital wards as a child and even told the Chair of Medicine, Dr. Gillian Hawker, that joining the DoM felt like coming home.
Colin completed journalism school and worked in communications and management for various non-profit organizations before eventually finding himself at U of T through various temporary roles. He worked these contract roles for about seven years before being offered his current role in the DoM.
“Working those different jobs at U of T was a great way to learn about the numerous complexities of working for a large university and I’m grateful for the diversity of experience I was able to acquire as I feel it all prepared me for my current role,” he says.
Colin has played guitar professionally since he was a teenager and spends the majority of his free time practicing, performing and teaching others how to play. He also enjoys vintage cinema, art galleries, early 20th century literature and very strong coffee.
Additionally, he has been a committed meditator for many years – something he finds invaluable for wellness. While he’s experimented with various modalities, the important thing, he says, is simply the daily practice.
