REPORT NUMBER 280 OF THE BUSINESS BOARD
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2024
To the Governing Council,
University of Toronto,
Your Business Board reports that it held a meeting held in the Council Chamber, Simcoe Hall, on September 25, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. with the following members present:
PRESENT: Rajiv Mathur (Chair), Mathangi Gopinathan (Vice-Chair), Anna Kennedy (Chair of the Governing Council), Scott Mabury (Vice-President, Operations & Real Estate Partnerships), Kelly Hannah-Moffat (Vice-President, People Strategy, Equity & Culture), Trevor Rodgers (Chief Financial Officer), Sharleen Ahmed, Glen Bandiera, Lindsay Boyce, Jovan Bursac, Amanda Bartley, Vikram Chadalawada, Janet Cloud, Samuel Elfassy, K. Sonu Gaind, Maureen Harquail, Thomas Hofmann, Kathryn Jenkins, Samantha Kappagoda, Scott MacKendrick*, Brian Madden, Adel Melek, Rima Ramchandani, Firdaus Sadid, Carmen Sebert, Ian Taylor, Veronica Wadey, Grace Westcott, Mary-Agnes Wilson
REGRETS: Paul Huyer, David Regan
NON-VOTING ASSESSORS: David Palmer (Vice-President, Advancement), Christine Szustaczek (Vice-President, Communications), Jeff Lennon (Assistant Vice-President, Planning & Budget), David Lehto (Chief of University Planning, Design & Construction)
*joined remotely
SECRETARIAT: Timothy Harlick (Secretary), Joanne Chou
IN ATTENDANCE: Barbara Dick (Assistant Vice-President, Alumni Relations), Steve Hoscheit (Assistant Vice-President, Divisional Relations), Catherine Riddell (Assistant Vice-President, Communications), Mila Miller (Executive Director, Strategic Planning and Advancement Organizational Development), Sanish Samuel (Controller and Director of Financial Service), Anthony Tia (Director of Treasury and Investment Services), Elizabeth Cragg (Director, Office of the Vice President, Operations & Real Estate Partnerships), Alex Matos (Director, Office of Internal Audit), Ihab Khalil (Chief Operations Officer for the Division of People Strategy, Equity & Culture) , Helen Bao (Executive Finance Officer, OREP), Joyce Hahn, , Sherol Cowell (Manager, Office of the Vice-President, Advancement), Jessica Schwalb (the Varsity)
Pursuant to section 38 of By-Law Number 2,
consideration of items 15 to 18 took place in camera.
OPEN SESSION
- Chair’s Remarks
The Chair welcomed new and returning members and guests to the first meeting of the 2024-25 academic year and introduced Vice-Chair, Indi Gopinathan, and Board Secretary, Timothy Harlick.
The Chair then introduced the Senior Assessor, Professor Scott Mabury, Vice-President, Operations & Real Estate Partnerships, and the Voting Assessors, Professor Kelly Hannah-Moffat, Vice-President, People Strategy, Equity & Culture, and Mr. Trevor Rodgers, Chief Financial Officer. - Reports of the Administrative Assessors
Professor Mabury provided an update on the following.
Domestic & International Student Enrolment
While enrolment numbers would be finalized in November, preliminary figures appeared stable with minor only adjustments to be expected. Restrictions on international student visas imposed by the federal government created uncertainty in the international recruitment cycle and likely contributed to a 20% decline in applications to Ontario universities. However, the University of Toronto fared much better with a 7% decrease in international applications. This amounted to approximately 600 fewer than expected international student enrolments based on current projections, with the largest percentage being from India. Domestic enrolment exceeded targets by approximately 1000 students across all campuses, driven largely by the new undergraduate spaces allocated for SAMIH at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Final enrolment numbers would be available later in the Fall term.
Encampment
As of the beginning of September, the total financial impact of the encampment to the University was $4.1 million. Approximately $3.8 million had been in direct expenditures such as additional security, legal costs, cleaning, and repairs. As well, the University had lost an estimated $300 thousand in foregone revenues from cancelled events and the closure of the parking garage during convocation.
The University had recently created a user guide to help students understand the University’s longstanding policies and guidelines on free expression and peaceful protest. The University had not introduced any new policies or guidelines on protest activities through this guide. The guide, available on the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students’ website, consolidated information from existing policies, such as the Policy on the Disruption of Meetings and the Policy on the Temporary Use of Space. It emphasized that peaceful protests, a long-standing tradition on campus, remained unchanged. The guide aimed to clarify existing policy limits, legal requirements, and a recent court order to ensure protests continued peacefully and within safety, security, and equity guidelines.
Cybersecurity Incident
Professor Mabury provided an update on a cybersecurity incident at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (“OISE”), where data for 14,238 individuals may have been exposed. The University had notified the affected individuals as well as the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) and offered credit monitoring to those impacted. All affected systems were nearing or at end-of-life and did not require backup restoration or business continuity plans. It was also reported that the University chose not to engage with the threat actor or pay a ransom. The total remediation cost was approximately $240,000, covering internal staff hours, legal fees, credit monitoring, and forensic services.
In response to the incident, OISE had implemented several measures: enhanced network security with tools for network segmentation, improved endpoint protection by enrolling all endpoints in SentinelOne, and improved password hygiene by removing local admin access and enforcing password rotation every 90 days. They also migrated all systems to the University’s cloud environment, initiated secure data feeds instead of data dumps from ROSI, reduced the number of virtual machines from 180 to 5, and hired a dedicated cybersecurity staff member to bolster security efforts. - Report on Capital Projects
Professor Mabury provided an update on Capital Projects that had reached substantial performance during the past 12 Months.
St. George Campus
- Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre had obtained occupancy in September 2023, with substantial performance achieved in November 2023.
- Fitzgerald Revitalization had obtained occupancy in June 2024, with substantial performance achieved in June 2024.
University of Toronto Mississauga
- New Science Building had obtained occupancy (excluding Davis link) in March 2024, with substantial performance (excluding Davis link) achieved March 2024. Davis Building link occupancy was expected later in September 2024.
- Student Services Commons had obtained occupancy in March 2024, with substantial performance achieved in June 2024.
University of Toronto Scarborough
- Harmony Commons Student Residence had obtained occupancy in August 2023, with substantial performance achieved in August 2023.
- Sam Ibrahim Building had obtained occupancy in August 2024, with substantial performance achieved in November August 2024.
Discussion
Professor Mabury addressed questions regarding outstanding deficiencies in projects that had reached substantial performance. He noted that while the University successfully continued many capital projects during the COVID-19 shutdown, it was not immune challenges in the construction sector. Specifically, Professor Mabury commented on the issues related to hyper-inflation and the high number of retirements in the sector that had occurred during that time. He also noted other contributing factors such as the challenge in obtaining necessary government permits due to the closure of government offices during the shutdown.
- Health and Safety Requirements – Quarterly Report on Compliance for April 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024
The Health and Safety Requirements – Quarterly Report on Compliance for April 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024, was received for information. - Annual Report: Vice-President, Advancement
The Annual Report of the Vice-President, Advancement, was received by the Board for information. Mr. David Palmer, Vice-President Advancement, began by thanking the Business Board for the opportunity to present on Advancement’s year end and what was ahead for the Defy Gravity campaign. Mr. Palmer introduced the senior members of his team and thanked them and divisional advancement teams across the University for their many contributions throughout the past fiscal year.
Highlights of the presentation included:
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Despite challenges in the geo-political landscape and market volatility, the University continued to excel in philanthropy, surpassing its goal of $290M for the year reported by raising $311M. This marked the fourth consecutive year of raising over $300M, with two of those years exceeding $400M. The campaign had raised nearly $2B so far, with a target of $4B.
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Record-breaking alumni participation was noted, with significant increases in attendance at reunions despite disruptions. The 2024 reunion saw a 21% increase in attendance from the previous year.
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A record number of 825 major gift proposals were submitted, a significant increase from previous years. These proposals resulted in over $100M in donations annually.
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The successful launch of the Alumni Innovators Hub facilitated connections between the University startups and alumni; Innovators Hub events took place in Palo Alto and New Yor, and brought together U of T start ups with entrepreneurs/innovators in AI and deep tech, fostering extraordinary engagement.
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The University’s brand marketing efforts—a function shared between the DUA and UTC—were highly successful, achieving a number one worldwide ranking for public universities in visibility, according to a recent ranking.
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Later this fall, the Defy Gravity campaign will celebrate raising $2B. It was noted that this amount has been raised in half of the time that $2B was raised in the previous Boundless campaign.
Discussion
In response to inquiries from members, Mr. Palmer assured that the campaign’s momentum remains robust despite potential policy and geopolitical challenges, with over seven hundred million dollars in solicitations currently under discussion. He also underscored the University’s active role in successfully advocating to mitigate a proposed change to a planned government reduction in the charitable inclusion rate, which could have had significant adverse effects on philanthropy at large.
Regarding government funding, Mr. Palmer clarified that the campaign does not rely on government funds and that no government funds are counted in the campaign’s achievements. He noted that donor commitments that align with University priorities and government funding programs could potentially encourage government involvement.
On the subject of return on investment, Mr. Palmer explained that the cost of twenty-one cents per dollar raised was attributed to increased staffing for the campaign. He commented that the standard set by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education was used to determine the return on investment, that the University was within the appropriate percentages for an institution of this size, and further highlighted that the total yield on new capital was approximately a tenfold return.
- Quarterly List of Donations of $250,000 or more to the University of Toronto – May 1, 2024 to July 31, 2024
- The Quarterly List of Donations of $250,000 or more to the University of Toronto – May 1, 2024, to July 31, 2024, was received by the Board for information.
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Status Report on Debt to August 31, 2024
The Status Report on Debt to August 31, 2024, was received for information.
Mr. Rodgers provided an overview of the Report and advised the Board that going forward, this item would be included in the consent agenda.
CONSENT AGENDA
On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried
YOUR BOARD APPROVED
THAT the consent agenda be adopted and that Item 9, the Report of the Previous Meeting, be approved.
- Approvals Under Summer Executive Authority
The Report on Approvals Under Summer Executive Authority was received for information. - Report of the Previous Meeting: Report Number 279, June 19, 2024
Report Number 279 of the Special Meeting of the Business Board held on June 19, 2024, 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 158 of the Audit Committee, June 17, 2024
Report number 158 of the Audit Committee, June 17, 2024, was received for information. - Calendar of Business, 2024-25
The Calendar of Business (2024-2025) was received for information. - Date of Next Meeting – November 27, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.
The Board was reminded that the next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, November 27, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.
- Other Business
There were no items of other business.
The Board moved In-Camera.
IN CAMERA SESSION
- In Camera Reports of the Administrative Assessors
The Board continued its discussion on capital projects.
Professor Kelly Hannah-Moffat provided an update on collective bargaining. - Annual Report of the Senior Appointments and Compensation Committee for 2023-24
Ms Anna Kennedy, Chair of the Governing Council, provided an overview of the Annual Report of the Senior Appointments and Compensation Committee for 2023-24. - Capital Priorities Report
Professor Mabury provided an overview of capital projects anticipated to start construction within the next five years requiring governance approval. -
Report on Capital Projects
This item was deferred until the next meeting.
The Board returned to Open Session.
The meeting adjourned at 7:21 p.m.
October 1, 2024