Report Number 59 Of The UTM Academic Affairs Committee
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2025
To the UTM Campus Council,
University of Toronto Mississauga,
Your UTM Academic Affairs Committee reports that it held a meeting in the Council Chamber, Room 3130, W. G. Davis building on September 10, 2025 with the following members present:
PRESENT: Rosa Hong (in the Chair), Sheliza Ibrahim (Vice-Chair), Alexandra Gillespie (Vice-President & Principal), William Gough (Interim Vice-Principal, Academic & Dean), Ron Buliung (Interim Vice-Dean Graduate & Postdoctoral Affairs), Margarida Duarte (Vice-Dean Undergraduate), Renu Kanga-Fonseca (Registrar and Assistant Dean, Enrolment Management), Andreas Bendlin, Steven Bernstein, Ilia Binder, Kiara Blaic, Liza Blake, Shauna Brail, Craig Chambers, Aryaman Chopra, Boris Chrubasik, Michael DeBraga, Pierre Desrochers, Hamza Faiyaz-Ul-Haque, Yeshoda Harry-Paul, Tanjim Hossain, Saad Hussain, Arsalan Kahnemuyipour, Renu Kanga Fonseca, Catherine MacGregor, Michael Nixon, Andrew Petersen, David Pettinicchio, Brian Price, Christoph Richter, Nasha Sethna, Jumi Shin, Holger Syme, Jaimal Thind, Christopher Thompson, Anil Wasif, Ron Wener, Liye Xie, Otto Yung, Jack Zhang.
REGRETS: France Gagnon (VPRI), Shakhriyor Bakhtiyorov, Barend Beekhuizen, Randy Besco, Brett Beston, Laura Brown, Brett Caraway, Sarah Hillewaert, Robert McMillan, Andrew Miles, Josh Milstein, Andreas Park, Gary Lee Pelletier, Ananth Prasad, Gurpreet Rattan, Dany Savard, Adriano Senatore, Andrew Sepielli, Meghan Sutherland, Ronald Wolthoff.
NON-VOTING ASSESSORS: Bryan Stewart (Vice-Dean, Academic Programs), Martha Harris (Director of Academic Operations, Office of the VPA&D), Mark Overton (Dean of Student Affairs).
SECRETARIAT: Cindy Ferencz-Hammond (Assistant Secretary of the Governing Council), Lauren Turner (Deputy Secretary of the Governing Council)
IN ATTENDANCE: Vivienne Luk (Interim Associate Dean, Academic Experience, OVPAD), Rena Banwait (Director, Experiential Education and Community Engagement), Jeff Espie (Director, Strategy and Brand Integration), Adam Fraser (Assistant Dean, OVPAD), Ferzeen Sammy (Manager, Academic Programs, OVPAD)
OPEN SESSION
- Chair’s Remarks
The Chair, Professor Rosa Hong, welcomed members, introduced voting and non-voting assessors, as well as ex-officio members, and provided a brief orientation to the Committee’s mandate. She discussed the difference between the role of governance and administration and talked about the roles and responsibilities of members. The Chair also referred members to the FAQ for Members document and the AAC orientation presentation on the role of the Committee produced by the Secretariat, available in the governance portal. She encouraged members to review these resources as they prepared to carry out their roles effectively.
Mark Overton, retiring at the end of September 2025, was honored for his 24-year tenure as UTM’s Dean of Student Affairs and Assistant Principal, Student Services (2001–2025), following roles as Acting Dean and Registrar at Erindale College (1996–2001). Both the Chair and the Vice-President & Principal offered personal remarks of thanks for his many years of outstanding service. - Portfolio Overview and Priorities of Presidential Assessors for 2025-26
The Chair explained that to contribute to the orientation of members, the senior assessors are invited to provide an overview of their portfolio and their plans and goals for the coming year. She invited Professor Gough to provide this report and noted that Professor France Gagnon, Vice-Principal, Research & Innovation had also planned to do a similar overview but was unable to be present. The Chair encouraged members to review the slide deck from Professor Gagnon included in the portal and send any questions they might have about the presentation to the Secretary.
Professor William Gough, Interim Vice-Principal Academic and Dean (OVPAD) presented his portfolio and reflected on his first 10 months at UTM, outlined changes in the academic leadership team, discussed priorities for 2025-26, and provided an enrollment update.
He noted that work on the UTM Academic Plan, provisionally titled “Realizing Our Potential,” was underway. “Realizing potential” had three meanings: becoming aware of existing strengths, achieving aspirational goals, and creating tangible outcomes through inspired ideas. Professor Gough then introduced his academic leadership team, highlighting that Anna Korteweg was appointed as Associate Dean, Faculty, in January, to support faculty recruitment and reviews, development, and mentoring.
Academic Priorities for 2025-2026 included the following:
- Advance work on Academic Plan, strategic enrolment plan, and faculty complement plan.
- Complete proposal for Indigenous studies program and/or EDU:B.
- Expand co-op internship program to include more placements and fields of study.
- Complete onboarding to Advocate by Symplicity case-management platform for academic integrity case resolutions.
- Develop more undergrad pathways into health professions including medicine, nursing, and occupational therapy.
Professor Gough reported that new programs on the horizon included a specialist in accounting and finance, UTM’s first locally administered PhD in media communications technology, an MFA in creative theater practice, and certificates for micro-credentialing. The OVPAD was also supporting eight external reviews in 2025-26.
Finally, Professor Gough provided a brief report on enrollment data. As of September 2, 2025, UTM had 16,191 students, which was up slightly from the previous year. Domestic enrollment exceeded targets, offsetting a shortfall in international enrollment due to visa regulations, softened source country markets, and federal caps. Total intake was 4,275 students (up 36 from last year), with 11,916 returning students (down 32). Late registrations were expected by September 15, with final funding-related counts by November 1. It was also noted that graduate programs saw marginal increases, except for the paused MMPA (professional accounting) program, which was being retooled for relaunch.
Members had no questions.
- UofT Nursing at UTM
The Chair welcomed Professor Robyn Stremler, Dean of U of T’s Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing to the Academic Affairs Committee and invited Professor Gillespie to introduce the presentation.
Professor Gillespie began by noting that Ontario was projected to require 30,000 additional nurses within the next seven years. The University of Toronto, whose nursing program ranked first in Canada and fourth globally in the 2025 QS subject rankings, was well positioned to help address this need. UTM’s distinctive academic programs, its existing health-related initiatives, and its strong partnership with Trillium Health Partners (THP) provided a foundation for program expansion. She was then pleased to invite Professor Stremler to UTM and to the Committee to provide more information on this initiative coming to UTM.
Dean Stremler outlined plans approved by the Nursing Faculty Senate to expand the bachelor of science in nursing program (BScN) to UTM. Beginning in Fall 2026, 30 new student seats would be added, supported by ongoing provincial funding and a one-time allocation of $500,000 to establish a simulation and clinical education laboratory on the UTM campus. The facility would include high- and low-fidelity mannequins and related equipment to support hands-on learning.
The presentation highlighted the importance of clinical placements within Peel Region, particularly through THP, to reduce commuting burdens for students and strengthen community ties. It was noted that local placements would enhance student experiences, facilitate part-time employment, and help retain graduates in the region. The expansion was also expected to raise awareness of nursing pathways among UTM undergraduates and increase alignment between health-related programming across campuses.
Plans included the use of simulcast technology to connect courses across St. George and UTM, and the expansion of practicum opportunities across Peel hospitals, community agencies, and health organizations. The Dean noted that the initiative was as a step toward addressing regional and provincial workforce needs while reinforcing the University’s commitment to rigorous and innovative nursing education. - Calendar of Business
The Chair reminded members that the Committee’s Calendar of Business represented the expected items of business for governance consideration for the year and noted that it would be updated regularly on the Committee’s website. - Report of the Presidential Assessors
Professor Gough spoke about UTM’s Research Opportunity Program (ROP), which provided undergraduate students in their second to fourth year of study with the opportunity to participate in for-credit research under the supervision of faculty members. In the most recent cycle, a total of 250 projects were submitted. Of these, 71 did not require financial support, while the remaining 179 were eligible for funding. Approximately 94 percent of the eligible projects—168 in total—received funding, with only a small number declined due to ineligible expenses or because faculty members had unspent funds from previous years. The funding envelope for the program remained steady at approximately $280,000 annually. However, Professor Gough noted that as the number of projects had increased over time, this resulted in a reduced allocation per project but allowed for broader student participation.
He noted that while the program was competitive, as faculty were limited in the number of students they could supervise, it nonetheless provided transformative learning opportunities for undergraduates. Although provincial definitions of experiential learning did not include undergraduate research placements, UTM continued to support the program as a meaningful and integral component of the student academic experience. Regarding the work study program, Professor Gough also noted that these positions had been reduced due to a loss of external funding.
In closing, Professor Gough noted that a more detailed presentation on experiential learning, that included ROP and cooperative opportunities, would be brought back to governance at the next meeting.
CONSENT AGENDA
On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried
YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED
THAT the consent agenda be adopted and that Item 6, the Report of the Previous Meeting, be approved.
- Report of the Previous Meeting: Report Number 58 – May 8, 2025
- Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting
- Date of the Next Meeting – Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at 1:10 p.m.
- Other Business
There was no other business.
The meeting adjourned at 4:08 p.m.
September 15, 2025