Keith is a Masters of Information student in the User Experience Design concentration with a collaborative specialization in Knowledge Media Design. He is currently working on his master’s thesis exploring the purpose, problems, and potentialities of student activism and how student activism can be sustained longitudinally with the high turnover in membership that comes with working within the space of higher education.
Beyond being VP Academic Affairs, he is also one of the co-coordinators of the iSchool Peer Mentoring program and the chair of the Diversity Working Group. He is also a member of the INQYR (International Network for Queer Youth Resistance) and KMDI’s STREET (Socio-technical Resistance and Ethical Technologies) Labs.
He is always happy to provide support to any students looking to get involved in or learn more about EDIA and social justice work in information studies (or, perhaps, if you share his enthusiasm for Frank Ocean, James Baldwin, and Wong Kar Wai).
email: keith.cheng@mail.utoronto.ca
The VP Academic Affairs is MISC’s liaison to all academic and curricular issues and serves as a point of contact for students experiencing academic or curricular issues. In addition, the VP Academic Affairs serves as the MI representative to the following Faculty of Information Committees to maintain a holistic understanding of Academic Affairs at the iSchool:
- Committee on Standing, where the Faculty of Information discusses and makes decisions related to requests for extensions, late withdrawal, thesis options, and doctoral thesis titles and committees.
- The Programs Committee for the Faculty of Information, which discusses and makes decisions related to the iSchool’s programs such as curricula.
- Faculty Council, which is the body that oversees the Faculty’s standing committees and affairs.
- The Masters and Recruitment Admissions Committee (MRAC), which reviews iSchool applicants’ program application packages and advises on the Faculty of Information’s recruitment strategies.
The VP Academic Affairs is allotted one vote on MISC’s General Council, and is expected to attend the above Committee meetings to report back on their activities at MISC’s regular General Council meetings. The VP Academic Affairs, along with the President and all other Vice President positions, is also a member of the MISC Executive. The Executive is responsible for the day-to-day operations of MISC, and are responsible for high-level decisions about MISC’s strategy and goals for each academic year.