REPORT NUMBER 57 OF THE
UTSC CAMPUS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
MOnday, May 6, 2024
To the Campus Council,
University of Toronto Scarborough,
Your Committee reports that it met in the Council Chamber, Arts and Administration Building (AA160), on Monday, May 6, 2024 at 3:10 p.m., with the following members present:
Present:
Tarun Dewan (Chair), Jason Glover (Vice-Chair), Linda Johnston (Acting Vice-President and Principal), William A. Gough (Vice Principal Academic and Dean), Andrew Arifuzzaman (Chief Administrative Officer), Neel Joshi (Dean, Student Experience and Wellbeing), Alison Mountz (Acting Vice-President, Research and Innovation), Elaine Khoo, Mark Fitzpatrick, Brian Harrington, Ainsley Lawson, Zanira Manesiya, Sylvia Mittler, Joseph Peter McNamara, Tanzina Mohsin, Dorinda So, Rachel Sturge, Andrew Tam
Non-voting Assessors:
Ramona Gonsalves, Jeff Miller, Nadia Rosemond, David Zweig
Secretariat:
Emma Thacker (Secretary), Megann Davidson
Regrets:
Kyle Danielson, David Kwasny, Manisha Kabi, Soham Naya, Aliya Shaikha, Sheila John, Arjun Yanglem, Hoorik Yeghiazarian, Pratik Guha, Beheshta Ali Dad Khan, Tiffany Castell
Guests:
Melanie Blackman (Coordinator, Community Partnerships Team Lead), Kimberley Tull (Director (Community & Learning Partnerships & Access Pathways), Jennifer Adams-Peffer (Campus Architect and Director, Architecture, Planning and Project Development), Chris Ibell (Assistant Director, Campus Safety), Tanya Poppleton (Senior Director, Campus Safety), Jennifer Curry (Director, OVPP), Khadija Uddin (Community Crisis Response Coordinator), Kaitai Xu (President, Regenesis Scarborough), Ryan Rupnaraine (Campus Safety)
OPEN SESSION
- Chair’s Remarks
The Chair, Professor Tarun Dewan, welcomed members and guests.
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Presentation – Landscape and Public Realm Master Plan, UTSC
The Chair invited Mr. Andrew Arifuzzaman (UTSC Chief Administrative Officer) to introduce the item. Mr. Arifuzzaman provided context to the Landscape and Public Realm Master Plan, noting that it spoke to all the building sites across the campus to ensure that each new building was not developed in isolation, and that the landscape that surrounded each building would have a cohesive feel and look, and be based upon principles. The plan provided for a certain esthetic and while it was not meant to be entirely prescriptive, it was an approach based on a set of principles and ideas that were heard from the community and the Indigenous Elders. Jennifer Adams-Peffer (Campus Architect and Director, Architecture, Planning and Project Development) presented the Master Plan with particular attention to broad consultation in developing the plan, its guiding values and principles, and various plan designs (e.g., Promenade/Pedestrian Spine).
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Overview of the UTSC Campus Operating Budget, 2024-25
The Chair invited Mr. Andrew Arifuzzaman to present the item. The presentation highlighted changes in enrolment, campus operating budget, sources of revenues and expenses, and key spending priorities for the coming year. Highlights from the presentation were as follows:
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Undergraduate enrolment was trending with UTM, slightly lower than St. George.
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The domestic student population was anticipated to be at 69%, with international enrolment at 31%. This would continue for the foreseeable future.
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Graduate enrolment (2024-25): (professional master’s) 59%; (doctoral) 34%; (master’s – doctoral stream) 12%
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Increase in net expense budget - $318.9 million; and in gross expense budget - $368.21 million
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Key Budget Themes:
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Undergraduate enrollment; SAMIH Program development; Academic experience and technology - mobilizing new facilities; Research facilities and support - Formalizing the Core Facilities operating processes; Driving efficiencies through Uniforum; Space and space use; Mental health - students, faculty and staff; Life on campus and in our community; UTSC 60th Anniversary
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Key Priorities:
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Investment in new faculty positions; Research - startup, new positions in partnerships and core facilities; Clusters of scholarly prominence and Centers of Excellence; Student supports - Mental Health; Infrastructure; Space plan - student space and campus upgrades, Community partnerships
A member asked how the increased compensation and inflation was impacting the budget. Mr. Arifuzzaman responded to say that yes, increased wages had required a look at growth plans, and with respect to capital projects, those under construction had fixed pricing so protected to some extent from inflation. Smaller projects would be impacted, including energy prices, however Jeff Miller (Director, Facilities Management), had been working on energy price modeling and predictions to assist with planning.
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CNAIF: Student Society Fee Increase - Regenesis UTSC
The Chair reported that the next item was a new student society fee. He commented that ‘Regenesis UTSC’ was an SCSU recognized student group promoting sustainability initiatives. Student society fees were subject to the terms and conditions of the Policy on Ancillary Fees, and the Policy for Compulsory Non-Academic Incidental Fees. He clarified that although the fees were for a UTSC student society, it was the administration (Dean Neel Joshi) who brought it forward for consideration. The Chair invited Zanira Manesiya (SCSU Representative) to provide any additional comments, however there were none.
Members had no questions.
On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried,
YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED,
THAT, beginning in the Fall 2024 session, the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union fee be modified as follows: (a) the establishment of $7.23 per session ($3.62 part-time) in the Regenesis UTSC portion of the fee.
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Annual Report: Campus Safety, UTSC
The Chair invited Tanya Poppleton (Senior Director, Campus Safety) and Chris Ibell (Associate Director, Campus Safety) to present the report. Ms Poppleton provided an overview of the campus crime and safety statistics (including increase in mental health incidents), community and campus engagement, a review of training initiatives (42 different training courses totaling 1,403 hours taken collectively in 2023). Khadija Uddin (Community Crisis Response Coordinator) added that her portfolio had a total of 133 case responses in 2023.
A non-member asked about mental health given that UTSC currently lacked a Muslim Chaplain. Khadija Uddin responded that she was Muslim and she provided mental health response services to students, staff, and faculty and part of that work was helping students connect to resources, either on or off campus. She noted the need for Muslim counsellors, and offered her contact card to the student, to continue their conversation and to help with connecting Muslim students to support resources.
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Annual Report: Community Partnerships and Engagement, UTSC
The Chair invited Kimberley Tull (Director, Community & Learning Partnerships & Access Pathways) and Melanie Blackman (Coordinator, Team Lead), to present the report, with the following highlights:
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Infinite Possibilities (the report theme) signified the unwavering commitment that UTSC had to nurturing deep-rooted relationships with our communities.
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Work was guided by the campus’ Partnership and Engagement Framework and Resource Guide.
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The approach acknowledged that partnerships were full of life and vibrancy, embodying dynamic lived experiences, knowledge and intersectionality.
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Embodied by three themes: (1) Building a Foundation, (2) Engagement in Action and (3) Revisit, Rethink and Evolve.
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Each story of impact served as a reminder of how we can actively transform our world by centering relationships and fostering intentional collaborations.
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Work aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with intersections of sustainability––spanning social justice, food sovereignty, climate action, and economic empowerment.
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The SDGs encourage UTSC to develop sustainable models for knowledge-sharing and growth that would actively contribute to making positive impacts in our world.
Members had no questions.
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Report of the Presidential Assessors
There were no reports from the Assessors.
CONSENT AGENDA
On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried,
YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED,
THAT the consent agenda be adopted and that Item 9 - Report of the Previous Meeting, be approved.
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Annual Report: Recognized Student Groups, UTSC
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Report of the Previous Meeting: Report Number 56 – February 17, 2024
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Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting
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Governance Meeting Schedule – 2024/25
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Date of Next Meeting – September 11, 2024 at 3:10 p.m.
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Other Business
The Chair thanked outgoing members of the Committee and the Administration, noting that he was stepping down as Chair and completing his term, after completing nice years of service. Emma Thacker (Committee Secretary) recognized Professor Dewan’s exceptional work, noting that since 2015, he had served on various governance bodies, including the Campus Council, the Academic Affairs Committee, the University Affairs Board, the Academic Board, and the Agenda Committee. Many of these appointments were in addition to his duties leading the Campus Affairs Committee. In honour of his service to the University, and in recognition of his leadership as Chair of the Campus Affairs Committee, Professor Dewan was presented with a Chair that included a plaque as a token of appreciation.
The meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m.
May 19, 2024