Leadership Lunches

Rob Vipond Launches Leadership Lunches

Article Published in the Volume 2/Issue 1 Fall 2011 Edition of News.Politics

Soraya Farha (centre) with lawyer-husband Frank McLaughlin (right) and Prof. Rob Vipond (left) at the first Leadership Lunch, Feruary 2011

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The idea came from knowing that the department was eager to reengage alumni in the life of the department, and that students wanted connections to post-university life.  Rob Vipond saw the “Leadership Lunches” as a way to address both goals.

As a superb teacher of long standing, with nine years of experience as a department chair, Vipond was still in touch with many former students.  He contacted alumni who had distinguished themselves in a range of fields, and the response was enthusiastic.  The Association of Political Science Students (APSS) was keen to send word out to other students, and the response was equally keen.

The first lunch featured Soraya Farha and Frank McLaughlin, both lawyers.  It was an informal give-and-take gathering with 15-plus students, followed by a visit to Joe Wong’s and Jeff Kopstein’s POL 101 class in Convocation Hall.  The next lunch, in March, spotlighted Alex Shprintsen, producer with the CBC’s National news, and Jennifer Deyell, independent screen writer.  Once again, a great success.  In September, Vipond’s guest was Adam Halim, from Procter & Gamble, who attracted a large audience of 50 undergraduates.  Future plans include bringing in alums with careers in the Ontario public service, policy consulting, and financial institutions.

Vipond and the APSS executive see this initiatve as a huge success.  Returning alumni are delighted to contribute, and students get to see a range of careers illustrated for them, and to ask questions about finding that first position.   As Vipond puts it, “students don’t need to be convinced that political science is interesting, or that you can do a lot of different things with it; but they are interested in knowing how you do it – how you start a career in an area that has grabbed you while you’ve been a student.”

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For more information, please send an email to polsci.alum@utoronto.ca. Current students are notified of upcoming Leadership Luncheons by email.