Gerd Hauck completes term as director, Real Institute
Gerd Hauck’s achievements at the Real Institute include mental health and well-being services in a multilingual format.
In May 2019, Gerd Hauck completed his term as director of Ryerson's English as an Additional Language (Real) Institute, formerly the ESL Foundation Program. Over the past three years, he successfully strengthened the institute’s offerings by spearheading the move to a 30,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art collaborative workspace on Yonge Street, and supporting the university’s commitment to innovative learning and teaching practices.
Gerd became part of the Ryerson community in 2010 as dean of the Faculty of Communication and Design following several years as chair of the Department of Drama and Speech Communication at the University of Waterloo. In 2016, he joined the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures in Ryerson’s Faculty of Arts, and accepted the role of director of the Real Institute.
As director, Gerd maintained program excellence through the continual review and improvement of a curriculum that promotes self-reflective learning, as demonstrated by its continued high success and retention rates. Notably, he oversaw the growth of the ESL foundation program from 157 students in 2017-18 to 220 in 2018-19.
He also further enhanced Ryerson’s international reputation by exploring possibilities of collaboration and service provision with dozens of international universities, by providing training ground for international ESL teachers, and by creating an affiliation with the federal government’s EduCanada brand.
A longtime advocate for students, Gerd developed a series of policies and guidelines to improve their learning experiences. Among them is the offering of mental health well-being services in a multilingual format on readily accessible platforms, and an ongoing commitment to an inclusive community that upholds Ryerson’s principles of equity, diversity and inclusion.
Following the end of his directorship at the Real Institute, Gerd is now focused on his teaching at LLC, and a collaborative research project with colleagues in the Schools of Nursing and Professional Communication. I wish him continued success in his future endeavours.
Michael Benarroch
Provost and Vice-President, Academic