含羞草传媒

Alexie Tcheuyap named U of T鈥檚 head of international student experience

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(Photo by Johnny Guatto)

Alexie Tcheuyap, a professor of French whose scholarship focuses on African literary, cinema and media studies, has been appointed the 含羞草传媒鈥檚 associate vice-president and vice-provost, international student experience.

Having received governance approval Thursday, Tcheuyap will serve for nearly six years beginning Sept. 1, 2021, including six months of administrative leave. He will be responsible for promoting opportunities for students to learn abroad, overseeing the tri-campus Centre for International Experience, developing global engagement opportunities for all U of T students through curricular and co-curricular initiatives and generally fostering a positive experience for international students at the university.

Tcheuyap says his own experience as an international student 鈥 he was educated in Cameroon and in the United Kingdom before moving to Kingston, Ont. for graduate studies at Queen鈥檚 University 鈥 gives him unique insight into the needs of U of T students who are new to Canada.

鈥淎ll of this is very personal for me because I came here as an international student and this means I have lived through a lot of the same things as the students whom I will be working to support,鈥 he said.

鈥淚n my career as a professor, I have always been very sensitive not only to the experience of students, but of those who are new to the country.鈥

He added that he arrived in Canada in 1997 carrying two suitcases 鈥 one for clothes and another full of books.

鈥淢y driver dropped me off [at Queen鈥檚] in front of the university鈥檚 Stauffer Library and he said: 鈥榊ou brought books here. See that building over there? It鈥檚 full of books,鈥欌 Tcheuyap recalled.

He went on to earn a PhD in French literature from Queen鈥檚, adding to a doctorate and master鈥檚 in the same field from the University of Yaound茅 in Cameroon. He taught at the University of Calgary before joining the French department at U of T in 2006 and is a senior fellow of the European Institutes for Advanced Study.

An expert in African literature, cinema and media studies, Tcheuyap counts Ariane Astrid Atodji, Florence Ayisi, Jean-Pierre Bekolo, Assia Djebar, Amina Abdoulaye Mamani, Jean-Marie Teno and Mansour Sora Wade among his favourite African filmmakers. He has written several books, including De l鈥櫭ヽrit 脿 l鈥櫭ヽran, Postnationalist African Cinemas, Autoritarisme, presse et violence au Cameroun and Avoir peur. Ins茅curit茅 et roman en Afrique francophone.

The most rewarding part of his job as an instructor, he said, is to introduce native English speakers to the original text of French language works.

Tcheuyap also brings considerable senior leadership experience to his new role.

He served as chair and associate chair of the department of French in the Faculty of Arts & Science and has been the faculty鈥檚 vice-dean, academic life and equity since 2019. As vice-dean, Tcheuyap initiated new strategies to develop a more diverse and more inclusive faculty, including the recruitment of several Black and Indigenous scholars.

Tcheuyap succeeds Professor Joseph Wong in the international student experience office; Wong was named vice-president, international earlier this year.

鈥淧rofessor Tcheuyap is an extraordinary leader at the 含羞草传媒, who brings with him tremendous insight into the international student experience, having been one himself in the 1990s,鈥 Wong said.

鈥淗e is well known among colleagues for his leadership skills at all levels of the university. His academic background in the humanities will no doubt open up new opportunities in international partnership-building as well as international learning experiences for our students.鈥

Tcheuyap said he will continue promoting equity, diversity and inclusion in his new role.

 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to ask where our students come from and to make sure that everyone feels welcome on campus, regardless of their background,鈥 he said. 鈥淭his requires special efforts to attract and retain students from underrepresented groups.鈥

He also plans to build on Wong鈥檚 efforts to create global scholar and global citizen designations for U of T students that are acquired through completing academic or extracurricular activities that foster a global outlook. The designations appear on a student鈥檚 co-curricular record or transcript.

鈥淲e are very fortunate to have the global scholar and citizen programs,鈥 Tcheuyap said. 鈥淲e just need to make sure that all students are aware of these possibilities to gain an international perspective.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not unusual to find a student who was born in Lethbridge or Kingston and who has never left Canada. The world is changing around us. We need to bring these international opportunities to students.

鈥淭he world is so rich. We need to encourage students to learn about the world in Toronto or go abroad and harvest international experience and then return to share their newfound knowledge back here.鈥

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