REPORT NUMBER 287 OF THE BUSINESS BOARD
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
To the Governing Council,
University of Toronto,
Your Business Board reports that it held a meeting held in the Council Chamber, Simcoe Hall, on November 26, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. with the following members present:
PRESENT: Rajiv Mathur (Chair), Indi Gopinathan (Vice-Chair), Scott Mabury (Vice-President, Operations & Real Estate Partnerships), Kelly Hannah-Moffat (Vice-President, People Strategic, Equity & Culture), Jeff Lennon (Interim Chief Financial Officer), Janet Cloud, Maureen Harquail*, Thomas Hofmann, Paul Huyer, David Jacobs*, Sarosh Jamal*, Samantha Kappagoda*, Audrey Karlinsky, Scott MacKendrick, Nicole Martin, Adel Melek, Debbie Oakley*, David Regan, Rishi Shah, Rima Ramchandani, Paul Tenenbein, Geeta Yadav*
REGRETS: Amanda Bartley, Samuel Elfassy, Samantha Figenshaw, Kevin Li, Danielle Skipp
NON-VOTING ASSESSORS: David Palmer* (Vice-President, Advancement), Christine Szustaczek (Vice-President, Communications), Susan McCahan (Associate Vice-President and Vice-Provost, Digital Strategies and Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education), Nicholas Rule (Vice-Provost, Academic Programs), Mike Snowdon (Acting Assistant Vice-President, Planning and Budget), David Lehto (Chief of University Planning, Design & Construction)
SECRETARIAT: Timothy Harlick (Secretary), Amanda Grant
IN ATTENDANCE: Gillian Morrison* (Assistant Vice President, University Development), Catherine Riddell (Assistant Vice-President, Communications), Alex Matos (Executive Director, Internal Audit), Sandra Nelson (Executive Director, University Procurement), Miranda Edwards (Assistant Secretary of the Governing Council), Anthony Tia (Executive Director of Treasury and Investment Services), Sanish Samuel (Controller and Executive Director of Financial Services), Urmilla Coelho (Executive Director Brand Strategy and Marketing Communications), Amanda Pautler (Interim Executive Director, Communications, Mississauga), Noreen Ahmed-Ullah (Director of the Office of the Vice-President, Communications), Audelyn Budihardjo (Assistant Director, Internal Audit), Ann Perry (Senior Issues and Media Relations Strategist)
*joined remotely
Pursuant to section 38 of By-Law Number 2,
consideration of items 16 to 19 took place in camera.
OPEN SESSION
- Chair’s Remarks
The Chair welcomed members to the meeting. The Chair also welcomed Jeff Lennon, who had recently been appointed Interim Chief Financial Officer, and congratulated Trevor Rodgers in absentia on his new role as Assistant Vice-President, Institutional Strategy. - Reports of the Administrative Assessors
Fall Enrolment Update
Professor Scott Mabury, Vice-President, Operations & Real Estate Partnerships, provided an update on fall enrolment. The University had enrolled approximately 156 more domestic students and 240 fewer international students than the prior year.
Professor Mabury explained that while the domestic student increase exceeded plan, it came with additional financial pressure as provincial funding does not cover the full cost of educating domestic students. On the international side, the University had experienced a COVID-related bump during 2021-2022, but the market had since returned to pre-pandemic levels. Despite these challenges, the University was performing significantly better than other Ontario and Canadian institutions in attracting international students, benefiting from its global rankings and location in Toronto.
Professor Mabury concluded by reporting that the Provost was engaging in academic budget reviews with divisions and adopting more conservative forecasting for both domestic and international enrolments. - Proposed Revisions to the Procurement Policy
Mr. Jeff Lennon, Interim Chief Financial Officer, presented the proposed revisions to the Procurement Policy, noting that the Policy was last updated in April 2020.
Mr. Lennon explained that the Approval Authority Schedule (AAS), currently included in the Policy as Appendix 2, would be removed and managed as an administrative procedure. This change delegates authority to the CFO to amend the AAS to comply with thresholds in the Ontario Broader Public Sector Procurement Directive and external trade agreements, ensuring timely compliance without requiring full Board approval for routine updates. He committed to reporting back to the Business Board in the cycle following any changes to the Schedule.
The revisions also included increasing the open competitive procurement threshold from $100,000 to $121,200 to align with the current Broader Public Sector Procurement Directive. Additionally, provisions regarding geographic neutrality and reciprocal non-discrimination would be removed from the Policy. Mr. Lennon clarified that while these principles remain in force under applicable trade agreements, their removal allows the University to respond more agilely to potential provincial or national shifts in purchasing requirements.
Discussion
A member sought clarification regarding the removal of specific approval limits from the policy text and whether the commitment to report back would be included in the policy. Mr. Lennon confirmed the delegation would allow administration to be more responsive to regulatory changes and committed to formalizing the reporting commitment. Another member asked whether changes to the schedule would be made outside regulatory requirements; Mr. Lennon confirmed changes would only be made to maintain regulatory compliance.
On motion duly made, seconded and carried
YOUR BOARD APPROVED
THAT the revised Procurement Policy dated November 26, 2025, be approved, effective November 27, 2025, replacing the existing Procurement Policy dated April 28, 2020.
- Review of the Statement on Prohibited Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment
The Board received the Review of the Statement on Prohibited Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment, for information.
Professor Kelly Hannah-Moffat, Vice-President, People Strategy, Equity & Culture, introduced the item and contextualized it in the Board's jurisdiction over human resources policies and employment terms for employees. She explained that the review had been commissioned to update the 1994 Statement and comply with the provincial Strengthening Accountability and Student Supports Act, 2024 (Bill 166).
The review was conducted through comprehensive consultation with students, faculty, librarians, and staff across all three campuses, including 45 closed consultation sessions, eight open consultation sessions, online surveys, and email submissions. Professor Hannah-Moffat outlined key recommendations emerging from this process.
The most significant recommendation involved transitioning from a Statement to a formal policy with enhanced enforcement authority. Additionally, a Human Rights Office would be established, particularly for students, to serve as a centralized intake point and to help navigate students through the complex pathways for complaints about harassment or discrimination. Professor Hannah-Moffat explained that this office would consolidate processes and ensure appropriate support for both complainants and respondents throughout any formal process.
The review also recommended establishing an institutional tracking system to facilitate enhanced reporting and recording of complaints. This system would fulfill Bill 166 requirements to post annual information regarding harassment and discrimination complaints in particular categories.
Discussion
Members asked whether the use of "Human Rights Office" was intentional given the heightened legal significance of human rights terminology, how the University would measure process effectiveness, and how it would handle frivolous complaints. Professor Hannah-Moffat confirmed the office name was by design, as all University harassment and discrimination policies are anchored in human rights law and code grounds. She clarified that while the office would address human rights violations, it would also handle workplace investigations and microaggressions and explained that effectiveness would be measured through clarity of pathways, timelines, and periodic evaluation, though traditional metrics are difficult in this space. She added that frivolous complaints are rare and typically coupled with mental health issues when they do occur. - Annual Report: Vice-President, Communications
The Board received the Annual Report of the Vice-President, Communications, for information. The Report provided members with an update on University of Toronto Communications' (UTC) activities during the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Ms Christine Szustaczek, Vice-President, Communications, highlighted that UTC established key strategic goals centered on elevating the University's global reputation and fostering engagement with stakeholders. The University ranked 1st in Canada and 4th among 1,000 institutions globally in visibility. UTC's efforts generated over 39 million targeted impressions for integrated marketing and communications campaigns and more than 108,000 global news media mentions in national and international markets, with 78% of coverage being favorable.
She reported that the team successfully leveraged key institutional moments, including the Nobel Prize win for University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton and the Presidential transition, to elevate the University's international profile and reinforce its leadership in research and innovation. The University captured the largest share of media coverage among Canadian universities and secured extensive coverage in major international publications such as The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Economist.
Ms Szustaczek concluded her presentation with identified future priorities including answer engine optimization for AI-generated search results, website renewal, enhanced enrollment marketing, and targeting our content at niche outlets and influencers to extend our reach.
Discussion
Members asked about international market perception efforts given Canada's immigration challenges, coordination with divisional communicators, and influencer strategy. Ms Szustaczek confirmed market research studies underway in the United States and India to understand perceptions and counter negative brand impressions of Canada as a welcoming destination of study. She described the Communicators Network established to align institutional and divisional priorities. Regarding influencers, she clarified the University would carefully select primarily alumni or faculty with established connections to share UofT's approved stories through non-traditional channels. - Investments: Semi-Annual Update on Investment Performance
The Board received the Semi-Annual Update on Investment Performance to June 30, 2025, for information. Mr. Chuck O’Reilly, President and Chief Investment Officer, University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation (UTAM), provided the update.
Mr. O'Reilly reported that the Long-Term Capital Appreciation Pool (LTCAP) generated a one-year return of 10.3% and a 10-year annualized return of 7.8%, outperforming its long-term target of 6.6%. The Expendable Funds Investment Pool (EFIP) Medium-Term pool returned 8.7% over one year, while the Short-Term pool returned 5.8%, both exceeding their respective targets. Total assets under management increased by 6.5% over the past 12 months to more than $8.5 billion.
Discussion
In response to a question about private equity underperformance, Mr. O'Reilly confirmed that no changes had been made to the reference portfolio but explained that private equities were assessed more conservatively and generally fared poorer than public equities, which have had an extremely strong couple of years.
Separately, Mr. O'Reilly mentioned ongoing discussions with the Investment Committee about potential adjustments to reduce concentration risk in U.S. equity markets while still maintaining 60% equity exposure.
CONSENT AGENDA
On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried
YOUR BOARD APPROVED
THAT the consent agenda be adopted and that Item 11, the Report of the Previous Meeting, be approved.
- Status Report on Debt to October 31, 2025
The Status Report on Debt to October 31, 2025, was received for information. - University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP) Actuarial Valuation at January 1, 2025
The University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP) Actuarial Valuation at January 1, 2025, was received for information. - Health and Safety Requirements: Quarterly Report on Compliance – July 1 to September 30, 2025
The Health and Safety Requirements – Quarterly Report on Compliance for July 1, 2025 to June September 30, 2025, was received for information. -
Proposed Revisions to the Audit Committee Terms of Reference
The proposed revisions to the Audit Committee Terms of Reference were received for information. - Report of the Previous Meeting: Report Number 286, September 25, 2025
Report Number 286 of the Business Board held on September 25, 2025, was approved. -
Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting
There was no business arising from the Report of the previous meeting. - Report Number 165 of the Audit Committee, September 17, 2025
Report number 165 of the Audit Committee, September 17, 2025, was received for information. -
Date of Next Meeting – January 28, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.
The Board was reminded that the next meeting was scheduled for January 28, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.
- Other Business
There was no other business.
The Board moved in camera.
IN CAMERA SESSION
- In Camera Reports of the Administrative Assessors
Professor Mabury provided an update on planned capital project initiatives.
Professor Hannah-Moffat provided an update related to collective bargaining. - Third-Century Chair Matching Program: Use of Operating Reserves for the Establishment of a Chair in Artificial Intelligence in the Faculty of Arts & Science
Mr. David Palmer, Vice-President, Advancement, presented the recommendation regarding the Third-Century Chair Matching Program and the proposed use of Faculty of Arts & Science operating reserves to establish a Chair in Artificial Intelligence.
The Board approved a motion that the recommendation of the Vice-President, Advancement, as outlined in the memorandum dated November 19, 2025, be approved. -
Report on Capital Projects
Professor Mabury and Mr. David Lehto, Chief, University Planning, Design & Construction, presented the Capital Projects Report for the period ending October 31, 2025. The report included updates on major projects including the Science and Applied Medicine Innovation Hub, Academic Wood Tower, and UTM New Residence. -
Business Board Striking Committee 2025-26
On a motion duly moved, seconded, and carried,
YOUR BOARD APPROVED
THAT the following be appointed to the Business Board Striking Committee to recommend appointments for 2026-2027:- Sarosh Jamal (Administrative Staff)
- Scott MacKendrick (Alumni)
- Thomas Hofmann (Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council)
- Kevin Li (Student)
- Paul Tenenbein (Teaching Staff)
The Board returned to Open Session.
The meeting adjourned at 7:01 p.m.
November 27, 2025