Report Number 71 Of The Utsc Campus Council
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2025
To the Governing Council,
University of Toronto,
Your Campus Council reports that it held a meeting in the UTSC Council Chamber, Arts & Administration Building on November 11, 2025 with the following members present:
PRESENT: Grace Westcott (Chair), Aarthi Ashok (Vice-Chair), Melanie Wooden (President), Linda Johnston (Vice-President & Principal), Syed Ahmed, Daniel Bowyer, Jason Glover, Brian Harrington, Paul Huyer, Mariana Jardim*, , Elaine Khoo, Gillian Mason, Sonja Nikkila,Faith Opoku Agyemang, Anisa Persaud, Silma Roddau*, Shennel Simpson*, Dorinda So, Rachel Sturge, Hoorik Yeghiazarian
REGRETS: Sharleen Ahmed, Irmi Huftless, Imran Khan, Mandy Liao
NON-VOTING ASSESSORS: Andrew Arifuzzaman, Karin Ruhlandt, Tim Tang
SECRETARIAT: Miranda Edwards (Secretary), Amanda Grant (Governance Coordinator), Lauren Turner (Deputy Secretary)
IN ATTENDANCE: Sandy Welsh (Vice-Provost, Students), Dhanielle Ford, Suzanne Sicchia*, Angela Treglia,
*remote attendance
OPEN SESSION
- Chair’s Remarks
The Chair welcomed members and guests to the meeting. The Chair reported that a by-election had been held on September 15, 2025 to fill the vacant graduate student seat on the Council. Unfortunately, no graduate students put their names forward for nomination, so the seat would remain vacant for the remainder of the governance year. She noted that general elections would be held in January 2026 for the 2026-27 governance year, which would be another opportunity to fill the seat. -
Report of the Vice-President and Principal
Professor Linda Johnston, Vice-President and Principal, UTSC began by noting that it was Remembrance Day. She noted that many members of the campus community had gathered at the Meeting Place that morning to honour those who served and paid the ultimate sacrifice. She thanked all those who had attended.
The Principal welcomed President Melanie Woodin for her first visit to UTSC Campus Council since her installation as President. She remarked on how much the campus community valued the President’s partnership and ongoing support.
The Principal began her report with an update on the Strategic Plan. She noted that Inspiring Inclusive Excellence had continued to serve as a strong and relevant framework for guiding the campus’ goals. Work was currently ongoing on a comprehensive gap analysis to assess current progress towards these goals and determining next steps. Updates would be shared at future meetings.
On October 21, 2025, the Principal’s Office soft-launched a new Culture of Care webpage through the UTSC Connect newsletter. The Principal encouraged members to visit UofT.me/CultureofCare. The webpage outlined the Culture of Care framework, provided resources and shared relevant stories. The Principal’s Office also launched the first video of the “In Their Words” series which featured members of the campus community sharing their stories of how they cared for the campus. The Culture of Care Listening Tour had begun and was kicked-off with a student session the prior week. Small focus group sessions would be held to allow the community to provide feedback on the Culture of Care initiative. The Principal noted that her office had also begun collaborations with subject matter experts, including Professor Julie McCarthy and Professor Alan Saks who conducted research into organizational care initiatives.
The goal of these actions was to shape a culture rooted in empathy, respect, and collective responsibility. The Principal thanked all those who had taken part and who had made an effort to incorporate these values into their everyday work on campus.
The Principal concluded by reflecting on President Woodin’s installation ceremony and visit to UTSC in October. President Woodin’s visit had included the Scholars’ Reception and a tour of the soon-to-open Indigenous House – both of which showcased the campus’ remarkable energy and talent. Both the installation and campus visit were powerful reminders of the shared values of all three campuses. She remarked that President Woodin’s vision for “meeting the moment” resonated deeply with UTSC's campus goals.
The Chair then invited President Woodin to address the Council.
President Woodin’s Remarks
President Woodin told the Council that she was delighted to be back at UTSC. She thanked members for attending the installation ceremony and receptions that followed.
As the University entered its third century, it was an opportunity to reflect on its 200-year history as well as take stock of the present day and set plans for its next chapter. She noted the current significant challenges including global geopolitical tensions, economic inequality, and the emerging existential threats of the climate emergency and artificial intelligence. These challenges were an opportunity for the University to “meet the moment” for the country and the world as it had done so many times before in its history. The President said that she wanted every member of the University community to have a meaningful opportunity to engage in the question of what it meant to “meet the moment.” She invited everyone to take part in the process of dreaming big.
In response to a member’s question, the President stated that she was focused on recruiting international talent to the University. She noted that the federal government’s recent announcement of a $1.6 billion fund for talent recruitment to Canada was a direct result of the advocacy work of the University and its peer institutions. The University leaderships was focused on capitalizing on this once in a generation opportunity.
A member thanked the President for engaging the wider University community in the process and noted the importance of the University in solving economic and social problems. - Revisions to the Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment
The Chair introduced this item by reminding members that, at its Cycle 1 meeting, the Council had received a draft version of the policy for feedback. She noted that the version presented today was the final version that would go to Governing Council for approval in December.
Professor Sandy Welsh, Vice-Provost, Students informed the Council that the draft revised Policy had been brought before numerous governance bodies in Cycle 1 for feedback and had also been made available on a public webpage for community feedback between September 3 – October 8, 2025. Professor Welsh noted that her office had made significant efforts to spread awareness of this final opportunity to provide feedback and had reached out directly to many student, faculty, and staff organizations. Her team received 25 submissions through the online form and 6 emailed submissions. In total, approximately 150 individual items of feedback were received. About 150 of those items were directly related to the Policy while the remaining items related to broader issues. Professor Welsh listed highlights of feedback received as detailed in the materials provided to members and noted that most feedback was related to requests for additional clarity. This feedback had been incorporated into the final draft that had been brought forward to the Council for this meeting.
Professor Welsh highlighted substantive improvements, including updated language regarding process timelines, respondent supports, and added clarification about procedural fairness and jurisdiction. She noted that many of the additions to the revised Policy included processes that were already in place but had not previously been enshrined in policy.
She concluded by thanking the community members who had provided feedback during the policy review process and thanked her team and all the staff who had been engaged in the work of the policy review.
Members congratulated Professor Welsh for her team’s work on substantively improving the policy from previous versions.
In response to members’ comments, Professor Welsh again emphasized that many of the policy changes were about enshrining already-existing practices and enhancing transparency so that complainants would better know what to expect during the process. She noted that better clarity would help complainants feel more comfortable during what would likely be the most stressful time in their campus experience.
In response to a member’s request for data on sexual violence and sexual harassment disaggregated by campus, Professor Welsh said that she would take this request back to her staff for review. She explained that it had not previously been reported by campus in an effort to ensure privacy during years when there might only be a small number of cases per campus which could potentially make complainants or other parties identifiable; however, she noted that there may be ways of reporting 5-year averages which would obscure identities.
In response to a member’s comment, Professor Welsh confirmed that it was important to have a strong culture of reporting and stated that the fact that individuals were coming forward to report their experiences was a sign of the Policy’s success. - Report of the University Ombudsperson for the period July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025 and Administrative Response
Bruce Kidd, Professor Emeritus and former Ombudsperson of the University, delivered the report. The Chair noted for members that, although Professor Faye Mishna had been appointed as the University’s Ombudsperson effective July 1, 2025, the report covered the period under Professor Emeritus Kidd’s tenure.
Professor Emeritus Kidd began by noting that the Office of the Ombudsperson had recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Its founding was one of the earliest decisions of the new Governing Council and occurred at a time of great social and institutional change, when the University moved from a discretionary to a policy-based decision-making model. The establishment of the Office gave every member of the University the right to a confidential and unbiased review when they felt a decision had been unfair. Professor Emeritus Kidd noted that the University's commitment to procedural fairness and equity was integral to its academic mission.
From July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, the Office of the Ombudsperson received 357 cases - an increase of 9% over the previous year. There were 45 cases from UTSC. There was an increase in the number of cases regarding international student visas and a small increase in the number of cases received from international students on other matters. Complaints concerning international student fee exemptions had doubled. Professor Emeritus Kidd noted that he had productive discussions with the Registrar regarding the need for improved clarity in communications and enhanced staff resources to address this issue.
There was a decrease in the number of cases regarding incivility – down to 27 cases this year, compared with 46 cases in 2023-24 and 56 cases in 2022-23. This significant decrease was likely due to the University’s efforts to lower the temperature in campus discourse and to model skills of effective civil discourse and disagreement. Professor Emeritus Kidd stated that he had welcomed the release of the Report of the Working Group on Civil Discourse, led by Professor Randy Boyagoda. He was encouraged to see that the Administration has accepted all of that report’s recommendations.
Professor Kidd noted there had been 25 cases concerning graduate student financial aid and remarked that the number of cases concerning financial aid generally had increased as economic circumstances had become more difficult. He stated that the University would need to become more sensitive to students’ economic challenges as the economic situation worsened.
Over the past couple of years, the Office had observed a marked improvement in the navigability and currency of University websites. There were fewer dead links and orphaned sites, and the ability to find key information and contact information had improved. Professor Emeritus Kidd commended the leadership of Provost Trevor Young and his predecessor, Provost Cheryl Regehr, in affirming and implementing the importance of effective and functioning websites. Professor Emeritus Kidd also commended the University Secretariat for agreeing to consistently include hyperlinks in its policies and documents so that relevant references would be easy to find. He noted this was a significant step towards accessibility of information and transparency.
Professor Emeritus Kidd noted that three major policies had come up for review in the past year and noted the participation of the Office in all three. He was encouraged that this confirmed a standard practice of consulting with the Office of the Ombudsperson on all major policy reviews and on individual cases of the Supportive Leaves Policy. While independent of Administration, the Office was effective at collaborating with the Administration as colleagues in the interest of safeguarding transparent and fair practices.
Professor Emeritus Kidd concluded by noting how pleased he was to have started and ended his career at the University. He thanked the UTSC Campus Council for its leadership on important issues and support for the Office of the Ombudsperson during his tenure. He particularly noted the Council’s leadership in addressing the backlog of academic misconduct hearings and in reducing that backlog significantly over a short period of time. He concluded by assuring Council members that the Office of the Ombudsperson was in good hands with Professor Faye Mishna going forwards.
The Chair thanked Professor Emeritus Kidd for his many decades of outstanding service to the University. Professor Emeritus Kidd received a round of applause.
In response to a member’s question about campus safety complaints, Professor Emeritus Kidd stated that safety complaints had decreased. He noted that, in the aftermath of the attacks on Israel on October 7th, there had been a spike in fear and safety concerns across all three campuses. Thanks to a collective effort led by President Emeritus Meric Gertler, Professor Welsh, and other senior leaders, the campus leadership had succeeded in calming tensions and modelling respectful behaviour. He stated that the University must continue to model this. He concluded by commending the outstanding services of Campus Safety officers across all three campuses.
Members congratulated Professor Emeritus Kidd on his successful tenure as Ombudsperson as well as his many other leadership contributions to the University. - Status Report on UTSC Campus Strategic Priorities
Mr. Andrew Arifuzzaman, Chief Administrative and Strategy Officer, reported on the five main strategic priorities for the current year.
The first priority was transitioning to an activity-based budget model for academic units. This would provide greater control and predictability for Chairs, vest control more directly with budget holders, and incentivize innovation and entrepreneurial thinking within departments in order to justify budget allocations. Future budget allocations would provide incentives for initiatives that would generate new revenues or lead to savings in operating costs. UTSC revenue generation and operating costs would remain decentralized, flexible, and transparent to all departments. Budget resource allocation processes, reporting, and record keeping would be simple, timely, and overseen by experts. Mr. Arifuzzaman stressed that the UTSC budget process should reflect campus values, while balancing those values with the nuances of campus resources and the need for quality academic standards.
The second priority was addressing the decline in international student enrollment. Mr. Arifuzzaman noted that UTSC had recently been successful in meeting domestic enrolment targets for the first time in many years. He noted the challenges that the decline in international student enrolment posed to the University’s budget and highlighted the need for creativity in finding new sources of revenue, such as the new Certificate in Health Sciences program.
The third priority was building out programming related to the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH). Academic leaders were focused on meeting strong enrolment demand, developing new programs and pathways, and strengthening academic and campus life supports that were tailored to health sciences programs.
The fourth priority was the operationalization of new facilities. Mr. Arifuzzaman described the planned operationalization of the new Myron and Bernard Garron Health Sciences Complex, that would house SAMIH and bring together three faculties (medicine, nursing, and pharmacy) into one centralized location that would offer specialized technological supports and services. He also described the pending opening of the new Retail & Parking Commons, the new campus bookstore, the Toronto Zoo Conservation Campus, and Indigenous House. He noted that UTSC was currently recruiting a new Director to oversee Indigenous House operations as well as additional support staff, and was currently planning the grand opening activities and events.
The fifth priority was implementation of three strategic initiatives: Culture of Care, Healthy Campus, and Inspiring Inclusive Excellence. Mr. Arifuzzaman noted the interconnectedness of these three initiatives which would allow the campus’ strategic plans and goals to flourish and thrive. He concluded by noting that the Culture of Care was more important than ever in encouraging community members to take care of each other during difficult times.
In response to a member’s question about allowing community vendors to sell their products at the UTSC Bookstore, Mr. Arifuzzaman noted that, due to the move of production facilities to an off-campus site, the campus now had a larger bookstore space than was required. His office was currently strategizing on how best to capitalize on this. He noted that the Toronto Pan-Am Sports Centre (TPASC) received about 1.6 million visitors per year and was therefore a valuable retail showcase. Some early ideas for the space included a retail space for student-developed products, a showcase for books written by University faculty, and an event space for book launches and author nights. - Reports of the Presidential Assessors
-
Andrew Arifuzzaman, Chief Administrative Officer
Mr. Arifuzzaman told members that he was anticipating occupancy in Indigenous House this month. He also reported that the significant traffic disruptions on campus caused by construction had now concluded. No further major disruptions were anticipated in the near future. He further reported that the campus was introducing a series of new light standards to be erected over the next few weeks which would eliminate some dark spots on campus which had caused safety concerns.
Members had no questions.
-
Tim Tang, Dean of Student Experience and Wellbeing
Dean Tang reported some highlights from his office’s recent activities. He noted that, so far this year, over 280 campus clubs had been officially recognized. A recent clubs fair had over 5,000 students in attendance over a two-day period. The Black Student Experience team continued to deepen engagement with over a thousand student participants at their events since the start of the term.
In academic and career advising, skill-building and career-readiness initiatives were underway with recent events such as the Get Experience Fair and the Pathways to Medicine session.
Dean Tang reported that his office was focused on the mental health and wellbeing of the campus community with counselling services and health promotion initiatives. He noted that his office had observed a trend in loneliness and disconnection among students. In response, his office launched a ConnectU initiative to address this issue and that would complement the HealthyU program that promoted wellbeing.
There was increasingly strong demand from international students for immigration advising services, with over 1,700 appointments made so far this year supporting about 700 unique students.
Dean Tang and Dean Ruhlandt both commented on the success of Fall Campus Day, which welcomed prospective students and their parents, offering a showcase of the campus, its academic programs, and community life.
Members had no questions.
-
Prof. Karin Ruhlandt, Vice-Principal, Academic & Dean
Enrollment Update
Dean Ruhlandt began her report by updating members on the latest fall enrollment figures. UTSC enrolled 4,016 new students this year. The target had been 4,431. Although the campus fell short of the target, it was the largest incoming class in UTSC’s history. She further noted that overall enrolment of 15,450 students was the highest enrolment in UTSC’s history. The campus was 469 spaces below its international student intake target. She noted that all three major divisions (Faculty of Arts & Science, UTM and UTSC) had fallen short on their international student intake targets. Her office was currently strategizing about how to adjust targets going forward as well as assessing impacts on the budget.
She highlighted other notable trends, including a 10% increase in Bachelor of Science enrolment and a decline in Bachelor of Arts students and the fact that 37% of the UTSC student population was enrolled in a co-op program.
New Academic Programs
Dean Ruhlandt reported that a number of new academic programs were currently in development:
-
- A new Combined Degree program for Major in Music (UTSC) and a Master of Teaching (OISE)
- New freestanding Minor in Artificial Intelligence, Mind, and Society
- New Stream in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning with Computer Science
- New freestanding Minor in Social Data Science
- Modification to Join Specialist program in Paramedicine
- New freestanding Minors in Medical Anthropology (BA and BSc)
She noted that several of these programs were a hallmark of UTSC’s interdisciplinary collaboration. All programs listed were expected to come through governance for approval in the 2025-26 governance year.
SAMIH
The Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH) was undergoing a phased approach to program and curriculum development. Dean Ruhlandt noted that her office was carefully planning and curating strategic partnerships. She noted that community partnerships were key to SAMIH programs as well as the ability to leverage campus strengths of wholistic program design, interdisciplinarity and the Culture of Care.
Members had no questions.
CONSENT AGENDA
On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried
YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED
THAT the consent agenda be adopted and that Item 7 be approved.
- Report of the Previous Meeting: Report Number 70 – October 6, 2025
The report of the previous meeting was approved. - Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting
There was no business arising from the report of the previous meeting. - Reports for Information
The following reports were received for information: - Date of Next Meeting – Monday, February 23, 2026
The Chair confirmed that the next meeting would take place on Monday, February 23, 2026. - Question Period
Members had no questions. -
Other Business
There were no items of other business.
IN CAMERA AGENDA
- Appointments: Establishment of the UTSC Nominating Committee
On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried,
YOUR COUNCIL RESOLVED
THAT undergraduate student Faith Opoku Agyemang and Professor Rachel Sturge be appointed to serve on the UTSC Nominating Committee effective November 11, 2025. - UTSC Capital Projects Report, as of August 31, 2025
The Council received the UTSC Capital Projects Report dated August 31, 2025 for information.
The meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m.
November 18, 2025