commentator director executive leader president
Turk received his bachelor of arts (magna cum laude) from Harvard University, studied political science and philosophy as a Knox Fellow at the University of Cambridge, received his master of arts from the University of California, Berkeley and his doctor of philosophy from the University of Toronto.
He is a frequent media commentator and public speaker on post-secondary education, academic freedom, labour and other public policy issues. Until June 2014, he was executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT). In September 2014, Turk joined Ryerson University"s school of journalism as a visiting professor
Turk taught in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto, specializing in Canadian Studies and Labour Studies.
He left his position as a tenured associate professor to become research director for the United Electrical Workers Union of Canada. He served as director of education for the Ontario Federation of Labour and executive assistant to the national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees before being selected for his position with CAUT. From 1990 to 1998, he chaired the Ontario Coalition for Social Justice and was a lead organizer of the Ontario"s Days of Action.
Previously he served as president of the Ontario New Democratic Party. Books
Academic Freedom in Conflict: The Struggle over Speech Rights in the University.
(2014)
Love, Hope, Optimism: An informal portrait of Jack Layton by those who knew him.
(2012) Company-edited with Charis Wahl. Universities at Risk: How Politics, Special Interests and Corporatization Threaten the Integrity of the University. (2008)
Free Speech in Fearful Times: After 9/11 in Canada, the United States., Australia and Europe.
Company-edited with Allan Manson.
Disciplining Dissent: The Curbing of Free Expression in Academia and the Media. (2005). Company-edited with William Bruneau.
The Corporate Campus: Commercialization and the Dangers to Canada’s Universities and Colleges. (2000).
lieutenant"s Our Own Knowledge: Labour, Public Education & Skills Training.
In May 2014, Turk received the Peter C. Dooley Legacy Award from the University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association In September 2013, Turk received the Jay Newman award for academic integrity. In 2012, Turk was presented the Distinguished Member Award from the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE) for having made distinguished contributions to the study of higher education.
Turk is a member of the Board of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, former secretary of the Harry Crowe Foundation, and adjunct research professor at the Institute of Political Economy at Carleton University.
