‘Thinking about the underdog:’ Dean Catherine Chandler-Crichlow on the U of T School of Continuing Studies’ evolving role
Dec 10, 2025
Photo by Johnny Guatto.
Catherine Chandler-Crichlow has spent her career helping people – often from marginalized backgrounds – reach their potential and gain meaningful employment. So when the Dean of the School of Continuing Studies at the University of Toronto helped secure the school’s largest gift earlier this year – $1.88 million from TD Bank Group to help Black Canadians overcome barriers to employment and develop their careers – she describes the moment as “pure and sheer joy.” In an interview, Chandler-Crichlow discussed how the new program is going so far, her recent recognition as one of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants for 2025, the School of Continuing Studies’ evolving role and her goals for its future.
Last year, the School of Continuing Studies celebrated 50 years of supporting lifelong learners in both personal and professional pursuits. What role does it play today in our incredibly fast-changing economy and workforce?
The School of Continuing Studies actually began in the 1880s and was formally established in 1974, focusing predominantly on professional development, with a huge offering for people who saw continuing education as a lifestyle change, and a way for community members – often alumni – to stay connected with the university.
We focus on how we can make an impact – and one of the biggest ways we can do that is by helping people cross-skill and upskill to attain meaningful employment and career growth.
Since then, the ecosystem around us has changed significantly, and our programming has shifted to reflect the dramatic increase in immigration and the proliferation of new technologies. From big financial institutions to new companies, organizations in this region have also become increasingly global, and in turn, we’ve developed programming to offer institution-wide development in areas such as risk management and project management.
We focus on how we can make an impact – and one of the biggest ways we can do that is by helping people cross-skill and upskill to attain meaningful employment and career growth.
For example, in 2021 Porsche Canada asked us to develop a micro-credential to help their frontline staff better understand electric-vehicle technology and innovation. We worked with Porsche on the curriculum and partnered with the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering to develop the technical portion, and SCS developed the interpersonal skills component. Our 10th cohort is now in the program, and we’ve granted the micro-credential to more than 500 learners.
There’s been constant change over the past 50 years, and I would argue the change we are about to see is phenomenal. It’s exciting, and it’s forced us to become more agile and flexible. In the past we might have taken six months to develop new courses or programs; now it’s three months.
How does the School of Continuing Studies serve as a bridge between the university and the community at large?
Because our programming is open-enrolment and non-credit, we welcome a wide range of learners with diverse educational and work experiences. So, we are often the gateway to U of T for people who may not have experienced the university otherwise or may not have thought of themselves as someone who could attend U of T.
For the broader community, we focus on how we can make an impact – and one of the biggest ways we can do that is by helping people cross-skill and upskill to attain meaningful employment and career growth. That’s why we have worked with organizations like the Royal Canadian Navy, a national institution with a major need for talent, by holding roundtables with immigrant settlement and youth agencies to help people explore opportunities. We’ve also partnered with the non-profit organization Small Economy Works to deliver micro-credentials on design thinking and entrepreneurialism from a northern and rural perspective to prepare learners in Inuvik, N.W.T., for the contemporary job market.
Within the university, we’re partnering with the Office of the Vice-President, International to support their team’s work with the Mastercard Foundation on the Africa Higher Education Health Collaborative, enhancing primary health care workforce education, entrepreneurship and innovation across Africa. It’s just phenomenal that we’re able to make a contribution to that community from here in Toronto.
In February, SCS received its largest gift, a $1.88-million donation from TD Bank Group to launch a pilot program to help Black Canadians navigate barriers to employment and secure jobs, completely free of charge. What is the impact of this generous gift?
I don’t mean this to be cliché, but I would say just pure and sheer joy. As a Black immigrant and a Black Canadian, I have seen that programs for the Black community traditionally get short-term funding that’s used for a specific project, and then it’s over. So, for us to get funding from a national private sector organization for multiple years to support this community is just phenomenal.
We had immense interest in the program, and our first cohort of 27 learners is well on its way, and we will be begin recruiting for the second cohort in February. When we launched our first cohort earlier this year, one learner came up to me and said, “I was born, educated and earned a degree in Canada, but I had no idea how to build a career. Thank you so much for thinking about the underdog.” Needless to say, we need to replicate this for other communities.
U of T’s School of Continuing Studies is an important part of the university’s Defy Gravity campaign. What makes the school a particularly impactful place for philanthropic investment?
As a part of Defy Gravity campaign, SCS is currently leading one of the largest fundraising efforts for continuing education and career-focused upskilling programs in Canadian history. We are lucky to be the only school of continuing studies of its kind in Canada that has someone working in an advancement role, because fundraising helps us fulfil our purpose of strengthening human potential – one individual, one organization and one community at a time.
Because all of our courses are non-credit, unlike the rest of the university, we don’t get government funding for our learners. Philanthropic contributions allow us to make our programming more accessible, and we’re working on creating access funds to reduce financial barriers to better serve the groups that need our help the most.
It’s also important to understand that when you make a donation to the School of Continuing Studies, you’re also impacting the agencies we work with that don’t have the capacity for fundraising like we do. We are very good at designing and implementing workplace-readiness programming for any demographic group in any sector or area, and we share what we’ve developed with those groups to ensure no one is left behind.
Congratulations on being chosen as one of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants for 2025. What does the award mean to you, and how has your journey as an immigrant influenced your career and leadership?
Canada and Trinidad & Tobago have an incredibly deep relationship, so many of us Trinidadians think of Canada as a place where we can make a contribution. After I completed my master’s in education at Harvard, coming to Canada was a no-brainer, and I started in Toronto in 1987 when I did a PhD in education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education here at U of T. Canadians were welcoming, and that made the transition very easy for me, so I’m thrilled to be back at U of T as the Dean of SCS.
Catherine Chandler-Crichlow speaking at the annual Black History Month Luncheon at Hart House in 2025. Photo by Johnny Guatto.
When I came to Canada, I came with a passion for using my knowledge and skills to help build this country. I often say there are very few immigrants who pull up roots, relocate their family lives and leave others behind to come here to be failures. We turn up to contribute.
This award for me was a validation that my contributions have been recognized beyond my wildest imagination. I’m opening the door to help others succeed, and now I’m even more motivated to keep doing that for more people.
What are your goals for the School of Continuing Studies?
The ecosystem of continuing studies has changed a great deal in recent years, with many institutions, including colleges and public-school boards offering courses on similar topics to the point where I believe the meaning of continuing studies has been diluted. We also have new competitors such as large technology companies offering “quick” learning opportunities at very low costs.
So, we need to be bold and continue to differentiate ourselves by leveraging our strengths – because we are leaders in so many different areas including micro-credentialing. We’re not just another player in the ecosystem. Weare U of T!
We also want to continue increasing access to our programming and to further customize and utilize the framework of upskilling we have developed for specific industries and more equity-deserving groups.
Another area we’re looking at: We are the only university in Canada that offers a comparative education service, where we assess foreign credentials and provide evaluations that identify the Canadian equivalents. With such a huge labour mobility trend happening in Canada, we’re looking at how we can expand this offering.
Like we tell our learners, we’re considering how we can repurpose some of our own skillsets and strengths differently to meet this moment for the Canadian workforce and stay ahead.
