Professor Maria Assif is an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream in the Department of English at the University of Toronto Scarborough, the Coordinator of English A02 (Critical Writing about Literature) and the Faculty Advisor of the UTSC/OISE joint Program (B.A. in English and Master of Teaching). She is also the Faculty Advisor of the only Canadian chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society.  Before joining the University of Toronto Scarborough in 2008, Professor Assif received her Ph.D. in English from Case Western Reserve University, with a triple concentration in American Literature, Rhetoric and Composition Studies.

Professor Assif has taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate writing and literature courses.  Her research focuses primarily on writing studies, composition pedagogy and Arab women writers. Professor Assif signed with Oxford University Press to publish a new textbook, Beyond the Five Paragraph Essay (expected release in 2021); she is also finishing up the first critical database about Arab women’s writings. Both manuscripts showcase writing productions by some of Professor Assif’s undergraduate students at UTSC. Her other publications have appeared in tens of journals and anthologies. Professor Assif is the recipient of many research and teaching awards, including the TEDxUTSC 2016 “Dare to Know” Participation, the UofT Idered Campaign award, 2011 UTSC’s The Underground Best Professor of the Year, The Middle East Excellence Award Institute in Education Nomination, TVO Best Lecturer Series Nomination, Top Five Educators in Illinois, The Fulbright Scholarship, the Melon and Adrian research fellowship, and the Dean’s special awards.