Meric Gertler's mother, born in what was then Czechoslovakia, survived the Holocaust.
21 Facts About Meric Gertler
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Meric Gertler received a Master of City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1979 and a Doctorate of Philosophy from Harvard University in 1983.
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Meric Gertler's dissertation was entitled "Capital Dynamics and Regional Development".
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Meric Gertler joined the University of Toronto Department of Geography and Planning as a lecturer in 1983.
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Meric Gertler was promoted to Associate Professor in 1988 and full Professor in 1993, at which point he received tenure.
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Meric Gertler's work focuses on the geography of innovative activity and the economies of city-regions.
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Meric Gertler is the author, co-author or co-editor of more than 80 scholarly publications and seven books.
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Meric Gertler has served as an advisor to local, regional and national governments in Canada, the United States and Europe, as well as to international agencies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Union.
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Meric Gertler was the founding co-director of the Program on Globalization and Regional Innovation Systems at the Munk School of Global Affairs, served as director of the Department of Geography's Program in Planning and holds the Goldring Chair in Canadian Studies.
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Meric Gertler has held visiting appointments at institutions including the University of Oxford, University College London, the University of Oslo and the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Meric Gertler has been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada since 2003.
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Meric Gertler received the 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of California, Berkeley and the 2014 Distinguished Scholarship Honor from the Association of American Geographers.
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Meric Gertler has been a Senior Fellow of the University of Toronto's Massey College since 2000.
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Meric Gertler won the 2007 Award for Scholarly Distinction from the Canadian Association of Geographers.
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In December 2015, Meric Gertler was awarded the Order of Canada with the grade of member.
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Meric Gertler was elected as a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy in 2015.
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In March 2016, Meric Gertler made the decision not to divest the University of Toronto from fossil fuels, which prompted a negative reaction from some students and faculty members.
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In May 2021, Meric Gertler allowed an offer to be rescinded to a human rights lawyer, Valentina Azarova, whose legal research and papers included the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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In May 2024, Meric Gertler made the decision not to refuse negotiation with pro-Palestinian student protesters on campus.
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Meric Gertler made the comment that the pro-Palestinian camp must end, by force if necessary.
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Meric Gertler refused to divest the University of Toronto from Israeli companies and terminate partnerships with Israeli academic institutions, in response to demands from the protesters.