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In recognition of his extraordinary efforts to ensure a holistic and student-centred admissions process, Jerome Poon-Ting, Senior Recruitment, Admissions & Diversity Officer at the Faculty of Law, is the 2024 recipient of the Jill Matus Excellence in Student Services Award.
The Jill Matus Excellence in Student Service Award recognizes individuals whose contributions to students and to student services are clearly demonstrated as going beyond the parameters of their job resulting in a broad and long-term positive impact on the quality of the student services at the University.
Poon-Ting joined the University in 2000 as a recruitment officer at U of T Scarborough and became the assistant registrar a year later, a position he held until 2012. He worked as a recruitment and admissions officer at the Faculty of Information until 2014 when he joined the Faculty of Law in his current position.
As the award citation reads, Poon-Ting “has not only exhibited excellence but has been a driving force in advancing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives. His innovative “whole-student” admissions approach ensures a supportive environment for the 360+ [law] students admitted yearly.”
Poon-Ting is the first point of contact for JD applicants, making him the face of the Faculty to prospective students. Once students are admitted, he contacts each of them personally and builds relationships with them, handling their verbal inquiries about curricular, cocurricular, and programmatic activities at the Faculty. He also connects admitted students with programs and people on campus that will enable them to see themselves as a welcome addition to the law school community.
He took on a leadership role amongst Ontario law schools to work with the Ontario Law Schools Application Service (OLSAS) to collect and report applicant diversity-related data. OLSAS has now incorporated the Diversity of Applicant Pool Survey during the application process, to allow law schools to “learn more about their applicant pool to ensure they are recruiting and selecting classes representative of the Canadian population and addressing any barriers to legal education.”
Poon-Ting has been instrumental in the development and implementation of the Black Student Application Process (BSAP) at the law school which aims to ensure that Black students have the opportunity to share personal profiles that fully express their lived experience, interests and goals and that those profiles are reviewed by members of the U of T Law Black community including alumni, faculty, staff and students. In overseeing this process, he provides annual training and preparation to application readers to ensure that the student submissions are seen and understood fully through a culturally appropriate lens. Over 130 Black identified students have applied through this process in each of the last three years.
He has also been a driving force in the visioning and creation of Black Future Lawyers (BFL), an initiative to support Black undergraduate students who are interested in the legal profession to receive mentoring, engage in development workshops, critical financing information and crucially, LSAT preparation support. In its first three years, this program has engaged over 800 Black identified participants.
Poon-Ting’s work is data-driven, fuelled by a background in information science. He conducts surveys and reviews statistics to see where the Faculty could improve its programs and what its students might need. He is proactive about seeking out opportunities for new or better approaches to recruitment and admissions.
“Jerome Poon-Ting’s extraordinary efforts on behalf of the Faculty of Law and the legal profession have enhanced the student experience and improved the admissions and recruitment processes,” said Dean and University Professor Jutta Brunnée, James Marshall Tory Dean’s Chair. “His initiative, creativity and dedication to our students and to inclusive excellence has enriched our Faculty immeasurably.”
