Appointments

Council appoints Michael Salvatori as new Registrar

College Council has appointed Michael Salvatori as College Registrar and Chief Executive Officer.

Salvatori, the College's Director of Membership Services from 2005 to 2008, takes up his responsibilities June 1, 2009.

"Teacher professionalism in Ontario is in excellent hands," said Don Cattani, Chair of Council. "Michael Salvatori's reputation for member and stakeholder communication and his commitment to fair access to the teaching profession in his membership services role creates a platform for continued excellence, leadership and responsibility in teacher self-regulation.

He will work with Council to ensure that the College continues to promote the public interest in education."

Michael Salvatori initially came to the College from the London Catholic DSB where he worked as a vice-principal and principal and taught at the elementary and secondary levels. He taught Core French, French Immersion and German, and is the author or co-author of numerous French textbooks and teacher resources. He has also taught in France and Italy.

In addition to leading the College's member registry, credential evaluation and services functions, he has experience in the College's accreditation of teacher education programs.

"The Ontario College of Teachers has established itself as a key foundation of excellence in public education in Ontario," said Salvatori. "It maintains a keen focus on protecting the public interest in public education by licensing first-rate teaching professionals to provide high-quality learning experiences for students in Ontario, ensuring consistency in teacher preparedness, promoting the standards of the profession and adjudicating matters of discipline.

"It is a privilege to serve as the College's Registrar and to work together with the College Council, staff and our stakeholders."

Salvatori earned his PhD in curriculum, teaching and learning from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto and is currently teaching at York University's Glendon College, jointly appointed to the faculty of education and the department of French studies.

Salvatori replaces College Registrar Brian McGowan, who will retire on March 27, 2009.

"I am proud of my involvement with the College, its accomplishments and the staff and Council members responsible," said Brian McGowan. "We've worked hard to make this a regulatory body that is relevant and transparent to the public it serves and to the ongoing professionalism of the teachers it licences. I know that its leadership is in good hands with the appointment of Michael Salvatori."

Salvatori praised his predecessor for setting a collaborative tone with Council members, staff and stakeholders.

"New leadership shouldn't mean a drastic turn in an organization, especially when it's working well," said Salvatori. "Continuity and consistency in leadership are important. In this case, it's about advancing and growing from directions already proven successful."

Having served as a director on the College's senior leadership team, knowing the strengths of College staff, and having worked with other regulators and registrars across Canada will help to ensure a smooth transition, he said.

Salvatori believes in distributed leadership and building a vision together with members of Council and senior leaders. It is essential that the College relate its work and mandate to what members think and care about, he said.

Throughout his career, Salvatori has kept a keen focus on students and their learning. When his full-time roles took him out of the classroom, he continued to teach a summer course every year.

As Registrar, he wants to remain grounded in work that enhances teacher professionalism that ultimately benefits the welfare of students.

"When I ask myself 'What's the public interest in education? What are we protecting?' it's that students have quality learning experiences and that they develop skills, abilities and readiness for tomorrow, and that we ensure this through our commitment to them," Salvatori said.

Multilingual, with proficiency in English, French, German and Italian, Salvatori welcomes the chance as Registrar to work in both of Canada's official languages and to broaden the College's relationships within the French-language community.

Michael Kaptein is new College Controller

Michael Kaptein joined the College on January 12 as Controller. As head of the Finance Unit, he will help to ensure that the operation and services of the College are appropriately funded and that resources are employed in an effective and responsible manner so that member fees can remain at a reasonable level.

"I look forward to working with all College members, the Council and education partners to preserve the College's stellar financial track record, ethical conduct and excellent reputation for fiscal honesty, integrity and accountability to its members."

Kaptein brings to the role more than 30 years of financial-leadership experience in a variety of industries. He began his career with Ernst and Whinney in the late 1970s. His corporate financial leadership includes progressively more responsible roles in manufacturing and insurance. His insurance-industry experience spanned 12 years with Wellington Insurance and London Guarantee Insurance in controller, CFO and vice-president roles.

Over the past several years, Kaptein has been a partner in Canadian Business Counsellors, a consultancy organization that helps owners of private companies sell their businesses and provides services including valuations, finding buyers and negotiating contracts of sale. In this position, he gained the confidence of business owners while attending to the most important transactions of their lives, demonstrating his ability to deal with a wide constituency in both a financial and psychological sense.

Kaptein obtained his Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University in 1976 and earned his CA status in 1979 while at Ernst and Whinney.