Principal’s Sustainability Advisory Committee (PSAC)
In December 2017, during the creation of the Academic Plan, 17 members of the UTM community united to form a Sustainability Pathways Working Group (SPWG). Over the course of six months, SPWG conducted a wide-ranging discussion focused on incorporating sustainability in all areas of campus life: academic programs, research initiatives, campus outreach. After setting its mandate, SPWG divided into two targeted sub-groups: one tasked with creating a working definition of sustainability, the other responsible for synthesizing best sustainability practices at other universities.
The two sub-groups met twice independently and once collectively, after which they drafted a final report that resulted in the formation of another team in 2019: the Principal’s Sustainability Advisory Committee (PSAC). It was then decided that PSAC develop a long-term Sustainability Strategic Plan for UTM as a whole. Many UTM stakeholders, including staff, faculty, librarians, students, and alumni, were consulted in the visioning and creation of the Plan.
For more information: PSAC Terms of Reference
Read the Sustainability Strategic Plan and Progress Reports: Reports
Membership
Current member positions:
- Deborah Brown, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO); Co-Chair
- Nicholas Rule, Vice-Principal, Academic and Dean; Co-Chair
- Ahmed Azhari, Acting Executive Director, Physical & Digital Infrastructure
- Arnav Tandon, MScSM Graduate Student
- Beverley Ayeni, Sustainability Manager, Strategic Initiatives
- Chad Nuttall, Assistant Dean of Students and International Initiatives
- Claire Westgate, Manager, External Partnerships & Communications
- Damian Maddalena, Assistant Professor, Geography, Geomatics, and Environment
- Faizan Ahmed, Alumni
- Jennifer Reid-Burrell, Senior Project Officer
- Laurel Besco, Assistant Professor, Geography, Geomatics and Environment
- Linnet Kocheril, Placement & Employer Relations Manager
- Luke Barber, Acting Chief Operating Officer, Property Services & Sustainability
- Mari Khan, Sustainability Coordinator, UTMSU
- Payam Zahedi, Director, Research
- Renu Kanga Fonseca, Interim Assistant Dean, Office of the Vice-Principal Academic and Dean
- Rija Rasul, Climate Change Specialist, City of Mississauga
- Robert Gerlai, The John Carlin Roder Distinguished Professor in Behavioural Neuroscience Psychology
- Samantha DiIorio, Sustainability Coordinator
- Shashi Kant, MScSM Program Director
- Vicky Jezierski, Director, Hospitality & Ancillary Services
- Vacant - One Community Member