Categories: Need to know

Michael Ignatieff lands a job at University of Toronto

After historic Liberal defeat, Ignatieff returns to academia

by macleans.ca on Thursday, May 5, 2011 6:55pm - 83 Comments

Ousted Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has accepted a teaching position at the University of Toronto after his party’s devastating defeat in Monday’s election. He’ll be teaching in several departments, including the Munk School of Global Affairs, and becomes a senior resident at Massey College, according to an announcement by John Fraser, master of Massey College. Ignatieff had formerly taught at Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard Universities.

The Globe and Mail

Tags: Michael Ignatieff

danR

I hope he leaves this entire debacle outside the lecture hall, except to open each term's lecture with the words:

"Yes, it really was a horrible screw-up and I should never have started in the first place. Now, if you'll turn to page one of your textbook…let us begin…"
Atchison_

Today's lesson in Canadian History, the historic defeat of the Ignatieff Liberals.

http://idrinkinthemorning.com Rick Omen

LOL. The best part is he'll brainwash a bunch of UofT Liberals into believing all the same garbage that got the Liberals into this mess their in. I'm sure he won't even touch on where he went wrong, because it was all those mean Harper attack ads (which, incidently, were true).

Laurie

Yeah, right – the attack ads were a bunch of crap.

Olivier

Good for him. At least he'll be helping more people than the CPC will.

citizen_CA

Are you bitter?

DerekPearce

And who can blame him? Having a decent man smeared 24/7 for 2 years straight– and watching that clap trap be swallowed whole– is something to be bitter about.

B Morris

He is a man of integrity and it's too bad people couldn't see that. He was too decent to fight against the Reform party who will do and say anything to win.

S. West

What planet do you come from. Oh, must be the center of the universe
Arturolexo

I think you meant to say that iggo and the liberals said anything to win. But, they didn't win.
Jim Bob

He's an idiot….sending Canadians to the polls so many times losing hundreds of millions of dollars that could have been used to stimulate the economy. Remember he's an American, perhaps he should go back to the US where he belongs.

ABC

Can't excuse mediocrity! That's the whole point. You missed it Sweety.

BizGrad

I agree that he is a man of integrity. Of all the leaders I liked him the best. However, since I am an economic conservative, I could not vote for him.

Mike

As opposed to the Stephen Harper "had us in the red before the recession and subsequent stimulus began" Conservatives? Come on now.

The Liberal's biggest failing in this election was getting so caught up in themselves as the standard bearers of Canadian reasonableness and democracy that they allowed the Conservatives to frame themselves as the economic party. Terrible, terrible politiking on the Liberals part considering Harper and other Reform party member's past musings on bank deregulation, or Harper and Flaherty's decisions on mortgage rates. Your just falling hook line in centre for the old lie that these people are competent stewards because of their ideological predispositions.

BizGrad

Mike, I agree the Conservatives are not ideal economic conservatives either. I was dismayed when they eliminated income trusts and lowered the GST. They are right about mortgage rates and corporate taxes, however. I ended up voting for them as the lesser of two evils.

inmyopinion

Oh contrare, it was the Liberals who promised anything and everything, then turned around a flip flopped on all. They were so sure everyone was buying everything they said, because after all, it was Ignatieff the enlightened saying it. Why would us uneducated, uncivilized minions have the ability to see beyond the well thought out Liberal plan? After months of endless scolding, speeches, witch hunts and outright grandstanding by the Liberals, only for them to then call an unwanted election the "Canadians want"………they deserve their fate. Oh and maybe when they rebuild, they might want to get a map of Canada and realise there is something west beyond Quebec. Bye Bye Ignatieff, you are where you are most comfortable, brainwashing those who will listen or have no choice.

MHL

Michael Ignatieff epitomizes the truth contained in the expression "Those who can–do; those who can't–teach."
Good luck in your new endeavor, sir, I hope you receive tenure.

Stewart_Smith

It is good you approve since some fraction of your federal tax dollars will go towards paying Iggy his pension, another fraction will go to the UofT to pay for his academic activities. This will include certain travel costs as he travels the world. In addition, if you live in Ontario you get to pay the whopping professors salary that he will pull down.

As an added bonus, he will be hired as a prestigious full professor with tenure.

(perhaps you really wished he was just visiting!)

51st state

You people are so incredibly bitter about academics. This is a man who taught at Harvard and Oxford. Are you honestly suggesting he is not worthy?
Have you anything to say about the bartender in Quebec who is now pulling down 6 figures?? Or the fat pension she is going to receive if she can put on a good show for six years?

Yanni

I win a coke! I knew he would stay in Canada.
http://idrinkinthemorning.com Rick Omen

Well, I don't think even the most hardcore CPC attack goons would have seen him pulling this move off *this* fast! The week of the election isn't even over and he's already accepted a job in academia! I'm guessing that ever Liberal that voted Conservative is saying "whew"!

Stacey

I'm trying to sort out where this hate is coming from. Ignatieff lost his seat and resigned the Liberal leadership and now he's gone back to his previous profession. I'm assuming Lawrence Cannon is also looking for a new job. I don't imagine heaping unmitigated scorn on Lawrence Cannon would fill you with the same joy for some reason.
gottabesaid

'I don't think even the most hardcore CPC attack goons would have seen him pulling this move off *this* fast.'

And what would you and the CPC attack goons expect him to do… ideally? What would be out of reach of your ridicule? What? Just curious.

modster99

I did not vote for MI. I do, however, think that people have to lay off the man.

As much as I couldn't vote for him, I still respect him as a person. I don't think he would have made a good PM, and find it funny that people ridicule Canadians for not putting him there.

I do have to say that I am surprised that he has chosen to stay in Canada. On that one I was wrong. I would ask that people just let him get back to life, as I have a hard time imagining how bad he must feel right now. The LPC had there lowest share of votes that they had seen in many years, and he was at the helm. I have to respect the fact that he has stayed in Canada, as I would imagine it would have been easier to leave.

I would ask that, as much as you may not have liked him as a politician (I didn't either), that you lay off the man. I am sure he will be kicking himself for years to come.

Bitter

Agreed 100%.

He never got to be anything but an opposition MP, and so the worst thing he ever did to anyone (aside from a few freshly unemployed OLO staffers) was to help conservatives get the majority they always wanted. And for this, they're slagging the guy. He's attacked for being out of the country. And now when he commits to stay, he's mocked as some sort of parasite for taking a job that any conservative would have taken eagerly without any moral qualms in the same situation…

I don't see anyone lining up to attack Tom Flanagan for returning to the professoriate after his own turn in politics. What's the crime here? He's a teacher. He taught at Harvard, so it's not like he's walked in off the street. Let him teach and move on.

Class act, guys.

modster99

For the record, though, MI is being attacked by both sides. Shows real calss to attack yoru sown guy. :)

one Canadian

Better to have played and lost than never to have played at all.

All the best to you Michael. You were a gentleman in the campaign and you certianly are a scholar. I am glad you are staying in Canada offering your talents to our youth and as such our future.

Jim Bob

Have you tipped over the rock yet that you've been under?
surely96

Thank you for that comment. it is honest, gracious and kind, just like Dr. Ignatieff. Most Canadians would relate to that.

pdpd

Holy moly, so much anger here. People really need to calm down. He did his best, and it wasn't good enough. Canada's extremely lucky that his back-up plan is to instantly become one of the highest-profile, and most respected, political scientists in the country.

He could teach anywhere in the world, and for a boatload of money, and he's choosing UofT. A major coup for the school, and something that even the hardest CPC partisan should applaud.
Laurie

I can see why this page doesn't have a page rank in Google. It's full of neocon crap.

Judge Roy Bean

Have a good look at who is gettng the thmbs up and down. Reality ain't a big word in your vocabulary. You are certainly supporting the right ideology with your lack of ability ot think for yourself. You'd make a good Stepford 'wife'.

Andy

What is he teaching? Defeat 101? Or, How to never try at running or leading a political party, and really screw up in the end?

DerekPearce

Actually he might teach something about messaging in politics. I think he fully acknowledges that the Cons defined him before he could define himself in the public mind– which was a failure on his part and the part of the Party.

Jim Bob

I know what he can teach….let me show you how to be a loser, waste hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars and make sure to call an election even though it clearly showed that we are way behind. "Come on in kids and sign up"! What a Jack Ass.
NUM

I just can't understand all the negativity here. The kind of smug anti-intellectualism that seems to dominate on-line news comments is a disgrace. Since when is being a world renowned author and thinker a bad thing? I'm no liberal and I did not particularly like Ignatieff as a politician. Nonetheless, you cannot deny the contribution that he has made to public and intellectual life. But all you idiots ate up that "just visiting" BS like you couldn't get enough and then asked for seconds. There's a saying that in Europe they want their leaders to be extraordinary; in Anglo-America we want them to be just ordinary. And we certainly got that, with a UofT drop out, failed economist, Canada-jacket wearing to demonstrate how "canadian" he is, writing a book about hockey which he'll never finish Prime Minister. Of course, there's nothing wrong with an ordinary Joe PM, but the way so many "ordinary" Canadians have relished in the public shaming of one our intellectual stars is pathetic.

I wish him the best of luck. In stark contrast to the comments above, I believe he is a worthy investment of the public's money. And I hope he does "brainwash" another generation insofar that he demonstrates the value of knowledge, rather than the kind 'virtue' reflected in the campaign of our new Majority government and in the attitudes of those unfortunate voters who made it happen.

But heck, what can you expect; the majority of you can't even take the effort to learn how our parliamentary system works, let alone appreciate an intellectual asset… now…what channel is the hockey playoffs on? All this word-lookin and a-thinkin by myself is makin my noggin hurt…

http://www.unseatHarper.ca Nadine Lumley

I love Big Ig with all my heart. I will now stalk him in T.O. whenever I'm in town.
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♥

HAS

I'll join you. I would love to attend his classes.

51st state

Smug anti-intellectualism is all the rage in Canada these days. It is what harper campaigned and won on. And it sure is a disgrace.
Only time will tell how long the neanderthal party can maintain it's grip on things. The silver lining to all this of course is that the current regime has the stage all to themselves….all the better to expose their true agenda, and NO LIBERALS TO BLAME. We will have to wait for four years to see if Canadians can really handle the bar being so low.

old school

Heh, NUM,it is you that doesn't get it.

We know how the parliamentary system works, its just that we ddin,t want any seperatist party involved in a coalition.

Now go back into your big red tent, and don't forget your red running shoes.

DerekPearce

So you admit that leaving separatism behind and the corollary effects thereof were responsible for the election results, rather than public love of Harper? How honest of you.

Concern citizen

NUM calls it 'anti-intellectualism'.
What kind intellectual Michael Ignatieff is? What are his accomplishments in academia? I never heard about it. He is known as a human rights champion. Human Rights become a crappy business recently, hijacked by leftist extremist.
I am a computer professional, have masters degree in engineering. Avid reader, with good knowledge of American history and world literature. I read Ignatieff's books also and found them very mediocre. I do not watch hockey. So I do not think I would fall in category of dumb pack define by NUM. And still I voted for Harper, because he is well educated economist and tested leader, who I can trust to lead the country. Apart from ideology, I can not trust my country to academic who never managed anything in his life. That was the reason of my choice and the choice of many other people who are not as dumb as NUM believe.

KML

You need to learn grammer and punctuation my friend. It spoils your "well educated" arguement. Isn't a pity there isn't spell check and grammer check everywhere for those who read but can't learn.
http://www.unseatHarper.ca Nadine Lumley

You've never read a book in your life, let alone owned one. Just admit it Jack Ass.
pdpd

"what are his accomplishments in academia? I never heard about it."

Well, you haven't been listening very carefully, then. 30 seconds on google scholar found his work cited over 5000 times. That is astounding. And he used to head up a research unit at the Kennedy school at Harvard, which is, er, not an easy job to get.
surely96

Did you read over what you wrote? It is interesting you brag about your intelligence, abilities and accomplishments, yet you express contradictory comments.

seventhson

Maybe the right job, but the wrong country. Get Back! Get Back to where you once belonged!

DerekPearce

Sooooooooo, he was shredded for not being in Canada, but being in Canada means he's in the wrong country. Talk about a No True Scotsman argument…

Red Herring

Let us recall that when Mr Ignatieff came to Canada he got a visiting position at University of Toronto (and while details were not published one can guess that it was a paid position). Now he gets a tenure again. I am intimately familiar with working of different appointment committees and I can assure that such speedy tenure is completely irregular and I have not seen anything like this even in the case of the stellar candidates in the real sciences. Combining that he gets a really cross-appointed position this means that the appointment came from the President office directly rather than in the common way: considered by department, submitted to dean, and finally to president. So much talk about academic democracy and integrity. How many stellar applicants will not be accepted because of the lack of funds?

inmyopinion

I could not agree with you more. This is rather interesting isn't it? Makes you wonder how long plan "B" was in the works.

Red Herring

It could be done very fast – as long as faculty of the host departments is not consulted. I guess that chairs also were not consulted but just advised.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Ottawa_Centrist Ottawa_Centrist

Good luck Ignatieff.

Judge Roy Bean

As if these schools of 'higher' learning need any more socialists to pollute the minds of our young. What a shame.
DerekPearce

hyperbole. next.

Jan

This is not tenure, you dumb*ass. It's the same temporary position Preston Manning took.

DerekPearce

This is what makes me laugh– if any Conservative politician (a la Manning) ever takes a post-politics academic job again, will Cons heads explode?

political theorist

Dude, don't embarrass yourself.

1)Ignatieff is one of the greatest hires in Canadian political science in a generation. Not everybody loves his stuff, but everybody respects it. He's a giant – UofT just snagged the director of the Carr centre at the KSG, for Christ's sake. I'm in the discipline, and I can think of no recent parallels. Recruiting anyone like this will be irregular, and you haven't come across anything like this in your past because every case like this is unique. And, because you're not a Dean.

2)Moreover, cross-appointed positions happen all the time; they're just messy, and require a president or Dean to be on board. My guess is that both of these folks at Toronto are thrilled, because this just made their summer.

3)If you bothered to pay attention, all of this money is basically irregular anyway, and is intended for people just like him. He's got a Massey college fellow gig, mixed in with a cross-disciplinary Munk teaching gig. Using these sorts of funds, Toronto has loaded up on weird but interesting folks like MSFs Orbinski (sp?). Chairs and departments weren't fully consulted because they aren't giving the money; the deanery is.

Still happy to assure us of your expertise? Still happy to throw lame brickbats at a bunch of people who just made a homerun hire?

http://www.unseatHarper.ca Nadine Lumley

The worst day of my life is the day HarperCon got a majority. I had no idea Canadians were that stupid. Well, now I know.

Yanni

The voters are always right. If you couldn't get the necessary votes, you did something wrong.

Probably the first mistake was not volunteering your time and money to your favoured political party.
Judge Roy Bean

The word day of your life was the day your mother gave birth toy ou without providng the brain to go with it. Scarey thought I guess having to find a real job and get off the freebie train. Your worst day is my best day. Funny, it is I who view you and your ilk as totally and completely braindead.

DerekPearce

Okay now you're not even trying to have a discussion about real issues. "Yo mama" jokes are not the stuff that Intense Debate is made of.

51st state

Nadine, I am with you 100%.

richard

I wish him all the best!
Dan Cummings

We can see now why he bought that $500,000 condo in Yorkville — close to work…

He will be blamed by Liberals no matter his role in triggering this past election, but will he ever come clean and be honest about how the backrooms –Donolo and Apps, for example — pushed him to the party’s immolation?

Or was his impending 64th birthday — just a few days hence — the ticking time bomb?

Was this an ageist election, with the two oldest leaders tossed to the wolves, and the youngest boosted to a majority Prime Ministerial role, our first in 11 years, with the biggest popular support since 1993?
51st state

The people commenting here and saying anything that comes into their little brains to somehow try to put down Mr. Ignatieff because he is an intellectual and an academic suffer from deep self-loathing.
It is really something to watch this mindset take over Canada.
Based on what I have read on these news sites by pro-harper commenters, it would seem that it isn't enough that Ignatieff left the political arena. I think their insecurities and desire to crush those they find threatening is not satisfied. Scary.

WaterlooAl

I think the fact that the Cons bought 6200 ad spots (worth millions) before the election started so that they could run him into the ground speaks as to how worried they must have been. The attack ads on him I think were the lowest I've seen and somehow the Cons still feel it appropriate to run him down here. Be angry at the short comings of the Liberal party but this man deserves better.

Red Herring

In his book “In-laws and outlaws” Cyril Northcote Parkinson describes the man who is always wrong:

But the man who is always right is something of a rarity. In the more average organization there are differing opinions among people who … Failing a man who is always right, what if the organization contains a man who is always wrong? Why not ask him and then do opposite?

Looks like Mr Ignatieff fits the bill
Trudeau lover

American Iggo… "He didn't come back for you"… indeed.
MHL

Michael Ignatieff epitomizes the expression: " Those who can—do; Those who can't– teach".
Good luck in your new(est) endeavor, sir, I hpoe you receive tenure.
Garry

What is wrong with Conservative-minded thinkers. The only comments they make publicly about people with different views are vile, repugnant and child like. It's too bad they don't pay any attention to what most decent people are taught as children, "if you can't say something nice about someone, say nothing at all."
DerekPearce

He's actually worked in the media and as a war correspondent in actual conflict zones. Your hero Harp has never had a real job, he's been public sector since he got out of University. Oh, and there's that– Harper actually, god forbid if you're a rabid Con, has a University degree you know. Which means even he learned a thing or two from teachers.
Dave from Halifax

Professor Iggy. Doctor of dogma. It is no coincidence that Iggy was after "free" education paid for by the public for his own personal gain. Nietzche once said , " Practice and theory are the same. Except in practice." This could not be more true in dispelling Iggy's theory on how to win an election. The Liberal Party's loss is the U of T's loss!
JHayley

Canada's (catastrophic) loss is University of Toronto's gain. I'm happy for Mr Ignatieff.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Ottawa_Centrist Ottawa_Centrist

Does sound like he came back to stay, however.
51st state

O.K. you redneck mental midgets, he is gone. Your thug leader won that battle. No more need to feel threatened. I would call you intellectually lazy, but you would have to have an intellect to begin with.
DerekPearce

Um, you can stop campaigning, your team won. Plus, what was he supposed to do? He found a real job– unlike most ex-politicians who just become parasitic lobbyists. The job he found was in Canada no less.
citizen_CA

It's not only the Conservative-minded thinkers who post negative comments, but also Liberal and Socialist-minded ones too. Also, MHL's post was not vile, repugnant or child like. There have been far more worse comments on Macleans by Liberals and socialist about Stephen Harper.
51st state

Could it be that Canadian's legendary 'politeness' is in fact, insecurity, self-loathing, and really, at the end of the day, not that much in the way of constructive thought to contribute?
DerekPearce

Doctor of dogma? My god, you're not even the slightest bit familiar with his work before politics are you? And if anything, this campaign showed that the Libs were devoured from each side by parties offering nothing but pretty clear dogma! Part of the problem with the Libs was not seeming to stand for anything– a complete lack of dogma if you will– to their detriment.
Trudeau lover

O.K. 51st taint… time for you to go back to playing with you're feces. I would call you terminally stupid, but you'd probably think that was a compliment.
Trudeau lover

Uhh, yeah okay, Iggo came back to find a job brain washing young minds, just for you. Does that make you feel better?
Trudeau lover

Yeah, you're right… and it only cost the taxpayer 300 million dollars… nice.
DerekPearce

Sooooo, all professors = brainwashers?