Rachel La Touche

Photo of Rachel La Touche

Rachel La Touche

Department of Sociology

Faculty of Arts and Science

Professor La Touche joined the Sociology Department in 2016. Her research is founded on questions of inequality, mental health, education, and teaching pedagogy – broadly addressing how institutions of higher education structure the mental health experiences and outcomes of those within them. She is currently working on a collaborative project studying the socio-psychological impact of student evaluations of teaching (SETs) on faculty across Canada.

In addition, she boasts an interdisciplinary and international teaching background, having taught for Indiana University-Bloomington, the University of Mannheim-Germany, Hanover College, and the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan. At present, Professor La Touche teaches and mentors UofT undergraduate and graduate students through a range of course offerings, TA training opportunities, and department workshops. Beyond UofT, she runs programming for partner institutions in engaged pedagogy, publishes in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and volunteers as a tutor for a non-profit, after-school program. Her commitment to accessible and engaged teaching approaches have been recognized with numerous awards, including the University of Toronto Dean’s Excellence Award (2017, 2018, and 2019).