After five years as Michener’s Principal, Harvey Weingarten knows we need more “Micheners” in Canada.
And he’s right.
In his time at Michener, Harvey’s mission has been to shine a light on the Michener Model as an ideal structure for Canadian higher education and to meet labour market needs. This Model, according to Harvey, means being job-focused and nimble, and producing students who can start working the day after graduation.
The Michener Model has been at the heart of Harvey’s work since he first arrived at Michener in 2019.
“I walk into Michener every day knowing that we can make a difference in healthcare,” says Harvey.
On June 17, Harvey will retire from Michener, closing a long career in post-secondary education.
Harvey’s Early Career
Born and raised in Montreal, Harvey started his post-secondary education at McGill University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, and eventually received his PhD in psychology from Yale University. Directly out of graduate school, Harvey was hired at McMaster University in Hamilton as an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department. He later moved on to become the Dean of Science, and in 1996, Harvey became McMaster’s Provost and Vice President, Academic.
Harvey made a major life change in 2001 when he was recruited to the position of President of the University of Calgary, and he held this role for nine years.
“It was all an accident,” Harvey says with a laugh. “I never expected to be President of a university, and I certainly never expected to move our west.”
In 2010, Harvey returned to Ontario and was asked to be President of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, an organization that offers policy advice and solutions to the provincial government on higher education.
Harvey was heavily inspired by education policies, and through a deep-dive into public-sector structures, he saw that other major industries in Canada — like healthcare — hadn’t progressed in the same way.
This is where Michener enters Harvey’s story.
We Make Healthcare Happen
When Kevin Smith, President and CEO of UHN and Michener, asked Harvey to take a look at Michener and examine how the institute functions, Harvey was prepared for the challenge.
“I knew what questions to ask and the right data to look at,” he says. “Clearly, I could figure out what Michener needed. There were significant tasks ahead, but I knew we could get there.”
His consultant’s role quickly turned into a permanent position as Principal — but this was September 2020 at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When I started the Principal’s role at Michener, no one was in the building. My style is to walk the hallways and talk to people about their work and what’s ahead. We couldn’t do this in the pandemic, and the spontaneity of in-person work was missing,” Harvey says.
But there were also opportunities to entering the Principal’s role in the height of the pandemic, and it was during this time that Harvey came to better appreciate the Michener Model. In fact, it was Harvey who first thought of the tag line “We Make Healthcare Happen” in 2023 — a line that sums up the Michener Model and our impact on Ontario’s healthcare system.
“My time at Michener has given me a glimpse into healthcare and what we need to do to reform the system and give better care to Canadians. The challenges are huge. We need to be innovative and creative,” he says.
Fiona Cherryman, Michener’s Vice President, Academic Affairs and Operations, looks back on the early days when Harvey first became Principal.
“Harvey is so well regarded in academia and research in Canada, and it was a bit surprising that he was interested in Michener,” says Fiona. “He saw our value early on. I think it was very meaningful for him to arrive at an education institute that cares so much about students and their future careers.”
Harvey and Fiona’s Partnership
When Michener staff and faculty think of our leadership, it’s Harvey and Fiona together, deep in conversation and often sharing an inside joke.
Harvey and Fiona have led Michener together since 2020, and their dynamic has set the tone for Michener’s work over the last five years: focused, forward-thinking and always with a good sense of humour. “We don’t hire anyone who doesn’t have a sense of humour,” Harvey says.
For Fiona, “it’s a surprisingly good partnership. We have different styles, and yet we complement each other well. I’ve learned a lot from him — he’s a masterful negotiator and broaches big conversations in a straightforward style — and I can always be honest and transparent with him.”
“I’ve learned a lot from Fiona,” says Harvey. “The opportunity to work with her has been a high point of my career.”
Fiona and Harvey’s work continues even today as they look to innovative solutions and take more risks. “Michener is a major contributor, and we can do more,” says Harvey. “We should not be afraid to take risks. We need to be bigger and bolder to serve the healthcare system.”
The Most Gratifying Time in Harvey’s Career
As Harvey looks back on the last five years as Principal, it’s clear what’s most meaningful to him: drawing attention to the applied healthcare professions that are often overlooked in the care and diagnosis chain. He’s honoured to have the chance to support Michener graduates who are so critical to our system, but Harvey believes they don’t get enough recognition.
“I never would have known about these professions if I hadn’t worked at Michener. These professionals are saving lives, and they do not get the recognition or profile they deserve. This bugs me,” he says.
One of Harvey’s first projects when he started as Principal was the Michener lapel pin that all Michener students receive when they graduate. The idea is that new grads will enter the field, place the Michener pin on their ID lanyard so that colleagues and patients will start to recognize Michener and how embedded our grads are in the system. It’s a small symbol, but it shows a connection among our alumni and how many Michener grads are making a difference in patients’ lives.
Ray Nielsen is Michener’s Dean of Students and was part of the planning group for the Michener lapel pin campaign.
“Harvey has said many times that he’s never seen a group of alumni more proud than at Michener, and having our name out there is important to him,” says Ray. “Harvey has always been incredibly receptive to anything that would improve the student experience. The campaign was never just about a lapel pin; for Harvey, it was about building the Michener community.”
When asked what Harvey will do when he leaves us in June, he comes back to the Michener Model, the students and the graduates who inspire him every day: “I can’t change the world, but I can do my best to keep shining a light on our grads’ essential contribution to healthcare. That’s my main thought as I leave — and I’ll miss the Krispy Kreme doughnuts.”
Harvey, on behalf of all staff, faculty and students, thank you for your vision, creativity and immense contribution to Michener and the applied health sciences professions. We’re fortunate to have you in our corner fighting for the professions we serve. Cheers to you!