Rachel Berger is Concordia’s new vice-provost of Innovation in Teaching and Learning
Rachel Berger will join Concordia’s Office of the Provost executive team as Vice-Provost, Innovation in Teaching and Learning on August 18.
“I’m delighted to welcome Rachel to our leadership team,” says Anne Whitelaw, Provost and Vice-President, Academic. “She brings a deep understanding of Concordia’s academic culture as well as a commitment to inclusive and forward-thinking education. I’m confident she will inspire new ways of thinking and foster meaningful collaboration across our academic community.”
Berger steps into the role as outgoing VPITL Sandra Gabriele moves on to a new position of vice-president, academic and provost at the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD U).
In her role as VPITL, Berger will provide leadership on curriculum, pedagogy and experiential learning at Concordia. This includes overseeing the activities of the Centre for Teaching and Learning, the Institute for Cooperative Education, experiential learning and curriculum innovation and development teams. Berger will also oversee the review and assessment of academic programs, will facilitate the development of new and ongoing academic programming, including continuing the work of building up a robust technological support system for teaching and learning.
She will also provide strategic leadership for the implementation of the Learning for Impact Strategic Plan: 2025-2030 which will support the development of curriculum and innovative pedagogical practices in each of the Faculties.
Berger joined Concordia as an Assistant Professor in 2006, assuming the role of Associate Professor of History in 2012. She has also been a fellow of the Simone de Beauvoir Institute since 2006. She was the Director of the Individualized Graduate Studies Program (INDI) from 2018-2022. She took on the role of Associate Dean of Academic Programs and Development at the School of Graduate Studies in 2021. She currently serves as a co-chair of the STRIVE Task Force.
A historian of South Asia, Berger’s research has focused on the histories of health and the body, food cultures and economies, as well as reproductive politics in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and has been funded by SSHRC, FRQSC and the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine. She also studies queer kinship in Canada, with a focus on the public policy around Assistive Reproductive Technologies, and the lived experiences of queer parenting.
These interests were sparked as an undergraduate at Concordia where she completed her baccalaureate in History and South Asian studies before attending the University of Toronto and the University of Cambridge (Clare College) for graduate training.
“I was a Concordia undergraduate and my commitment to the university comes from an inherent understanding of its importance to the Montreal community,” she said. “This is a uniquely challenging moment during which financial pressures, geopolitical dynamics, and emerging technologies like generative AI are challenging us to think creatively about how we move forward on many fronts. I see these pressures as catalysts to reimagine what education can be, empowering students and faculty to shape a future defined by our responsiveness, our creativity, and a push for deeper connection. I’m excited to work in partnership with faculty and students to build agile, innovative, and inclusive programming.”
