Dr. Neil Thomlinson is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University, which he joined in 1995 as a sessional instructor. He was appointed an Assistant Professor in 2000, was transferred to tenure and promoted to Associate Professor in 2005. He served as Department Chair from 01 July 2006 to 30 June 2011. In addition to a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto, Neil holds a Master of Arts (MA) in Political Studies from the University of Saskatchewan, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science from the University of Calgary. Before entering the world of academe, Neil was the Parts Manager of a successful Ford dealership, while also serving as a municipal councillor, Mayor, and Chair of a Regional Planning Commission in Northern Alberta. He continued to work as a partsman while completing his BA and MA, and also continued to serve his community as a board member, Treasurer, and President of AIDS Calgary. In recognition of that volunteer service, he was awarded the Canada Volunteer Award by Health and Welfare Canada in 1991. Neil's volunteer commitment continues. Within Ryerson, he chaired the Provost’s Committee on Timetabling (2006-11); has served on the Executive of the Ryerson Faculty Association (2004-6) and on its Chairs/Directors’ Council (2007-11); on Senate representing Chairs in the Faculty of Arts (2008-2011) and on its Review Committee (2007-8), Restructuring Committee (2008-9), and Priorities Committee (2009-11); and the Faculty of Arts Teaching Standards Committee (2009-2011) and its predecessor Faculty Local Norms Committee (2005-2009). He has also served on a variety of other standing and ad hoc committees within the University, Faculty, and Department. In the broader community, he serves on the Policy and Accreditation Committee of the Ontario Municipal Management Institute (OMMI) and serves on the Board of Directors of his condo corporation (MTCC905) as Secretary. He is a frequent media commentator on urban and Canadian politics. His teaching and research interests include local and urban governance, Canadian government and politics, public policy, and the politics of sexual diversity and identity. He was named a “popular prof” in Maclean’s Guide to Canadian Universities from 2003 until Ryerson withdrew from participation in the Guide. A member of the Yeates School of Graduate Studies, Neil is affiliated with the MA program in Public Policy and Administration, the interdisciplinary PhD program in Policy Studies, and the Joint (with York University) MA/PhD program in Communication and Culture. Currently, Neil is working with Dr. Wendy Cukier on two papers: one about media “framing” of gun control as a policy issue, and one about the implementation of Canada’s Firearms Act. He is also revising his doctoral thesis, Unfinished Business: The Remaking of Toronto, for publication. While on leave in 2011-12, he was affiliated with the UFRJ - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) through its Observatório das Metrópoles and IPPUR - Institutuo de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbano e Regional (Institute of Urban and Regional Planning and Research) to explore the possibility of a collaborative project to examine whether - or the extent to which - municipal government benefits from constitutional recognition. He also worked with the leadership of the GPDES - Gestão Pública para o Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Public Management for Social and Economic Development) program to establish exchange agreements that would facilitate student and faculty exchanges and collaborative research. A Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions was signed in Toronto on 27 June 2012. Publications include:
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