Outgoing U of T president Meric Gertler talks successes, crises and challenges ahead

In Meric Gertler’s 12 years as president of the University of Toronto, the school grew to more than 100,000 students and was consistently ranked among the world’s top 25 universities. But as he prepares to depart, he says it’s getting harder to compete with the best. Dr. Gertler reflected on his tenure in an interview at his office in Simcoe Hall.Monday is his final day on the job. He plans to spend next year as an academic visitor at Oxford and then return to U of T as Goldring Chair in Canadian Studies.