Campaigning for excellence and more
Professor Edward Iacobucci’s five-year term as Dean came to a close on December 31, 2020. Ultra Vires (UV) took this opportunity to look back on Iacobucci’s tenure as Dean, reflecting on our inaugural interview with him following his appointment in 2014, as well as the follow-up after his first year. (The Dean’s Office declined Ultra Vires’ request for an interview last semester.)
Campaign for Excellence Without Barriers
In his inaugural interview with UV, former Dean Iacobucci said, “Financial aid is going to be a priority […] I don’t think we can continue to be the place we are without the quality of students that we have.”
During the 2016 follow-up interview, UV inquired about financial aid again, and former Dean Iacobucci said,
“We are in a position to commit to making sure that the financial aid pot grows at the 5 per cent rate that tuition is growing at. […] I would love to improve that, either through prudent management of our costs, alternative sources of revenue, or fundraising. Again, it’s a priority for me. That’s the number that I gave then, and that to me is a commitment. What we can do beyond that, I’m hopeful, but I’m just not in a position to make any kind of commitment.”
On September 27, 2018, the law school launched the Campaign for Excellence Without Barriers, the largest bursary-focused campaign at any Canadian law school. The campaign has since surpassed its $30 million goal. It has raised nearly $53 million for student support, with nearly $40 million going towards financial aid and $12.8 million for the student experience.
The law school also launched two new initiatives in 2020, the Investor Protection Clinic and the Future of Law Lab, both made possible by the $6 million landmark gift from the Honourable Henry N. R. “Hal” Jackman (JD 1965) through the Campaign.
At the most recent Faculty Council meeting on budget and tuition (and Iacobucci’s last Faculty Council as Dean), he presented the following numbers for the law school’s tuition growth and corresponding financial aid increases, as well as their respective cumulative annual growth rates (CAGR).
JD Tuition and Financial Aid Budget
| 2014-2015 | 2020-2021 | CAGR | |
| Tuition | $30,230 | $33,040 | 1.49% |
| Financial aid budget (operating) | $2.46 million | $3.21 million | 4.53% |
| Financial aid budget (income from endowment) | $0.67 million | $1.49 million | 14.25% |
Former Dean Iacobucci also highlighted the lower average net tuition, as seen below. “This, I hope, gives you a sense of how the change in macro numbers play out at the individual level,” he said. “Our neediest students are better off today than six years ago.” He deferred further discussion about tuition increases to the next Dean.
JD Tuition and Financial Aid at the Faculty of Law
| 2014-2015 | 2020-2021 | |
| Tuition | $30,230 | $34,584 |
| Average Financial Support | $9,209 | $17,051* |
| Average Net Tuition | $21,021 | $15,989* |
| Largest Bursary | $15,523 | $22,413** |
| Smallest Net Tuition (excluding interest support) | $14,717 | $10,627** |
*Numbers from the Faculty of Law Year in Review 2020
**Largest Bursary and Smallest Net Tuition numbers are for 2019-2020.
Iacobucci also reminded Faculty Council attendees that his annual report of the law school’s budget was a courtesy on his part, and that it would be up to the next Dean to decide whether to continue these presentations.
Faculty Hires
During his inaugural interview with UV, Former Dean Iacobucci listed the law school’s priorities in shaping the Faculty body: “What we have looked for, I will continue to look for. So people who are creative, imaginative, scholarly, legal scholars who we have a sense would be great in the classroom and would be great researchers and great citizens around the school. Those are the criteria that we always have looked for and I wouldn’t feel myself wanting to change those priorities.”
The following faculty members were appointed during Former Dean Iacobucci’s tenure: Professor Adriana Robertson (2017), Professor (and now Associate Dean) Christopher Essert (2018), and Professor Gillian Hadfield (rejoining the Faculty in 2018). Professor Anna Su joined during the interim period in 2014.
At Iacobucci’s last Faculty Council meeting on budget and tuition, he highlighted the fact that the law school has been careful with appointments and the Faculty had recently seen more retirements than appointments. This was presented as evidence of the law school’s attempt to mitigate structural budget challenges. He went on to say that maintaining the excellence of the faculty is a priority, and that further appointments would of course be up to the next Dean.
There has also been significant controversy surrounding the hiring of a new IHRP Director. Former Dean Iacobucci faced accusations of allowing donor influence to affect the candidate selection process, and denied all claims. The Honourable Thomas Albert Cromwell, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, has been appointed to conduct an independent and impartial review.
And More
After much back and forth, the law school established the January Intersession, where intensive courses for upper-year students are condensed in the first week after winter break. Former Dean Iacobucci first raised the possibility of Intersessions in 2015, and discussed them at many later Faculty Council meetings before implementing them in 2020.
During Iacobucci’s tenure, the law school initiated a Mental Health and Wellness Committee, and hired an in-house counsellor in 2016. The law school terminated the in-house counsellor position in early 2020, and transitioned students to U of T’s Health & Wellness counsellors.
Under Former Dean Iacobucci, the Dean’s monthly informal chat with students (over snacks in the atrium) was named Yak’s Snacks, much to students’ disappointment. (“Iacobucci’s Fiduciary Snack Duty” was the winner in a 2015 student-led vote.) Newly appointed Dean Jutta Brunnée will have ample time to come up with a new name for the event, since pandemic restrictions will likely prohibit gatherings for at least a few more months.
