Sharing What Matters Most
To the UTM community,
Today marks a national day of observance on the impact of COVID-19, officially designated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian federal government earlier this week.
Across all three campuses, the University of Toronto will acknowledge the occasion by lowering its flags to half-staff, joining together, as the prime minister put it, to recognize the fundamental changes wrought by COVID-19 on how we “work and learn, connect with friends and family, and live our daily lives.” As we respect the occasion’s symbolism, I also hope that members of our community can use March 11 as a moment for self-reflection, attentive care and critical thinking. I know how full and complicated pandemic life is for many of you. But I invite those who can, and are willing, to consider what the pandemic has shown you about your own values—about what matters most to you—and about what UTM does, or could do better, to represent your ideals.
There is no rush here. I hope that our reflections will enable the beginning of a community-wide discussion in May, as we continue to reckon with the pandemic’s challenges and explore together values and commitments for UTM’s future. Our exploration will comprise the first gradual step in a process of long-term planning, one that will involve students, staff, librarians, faculty, alumni and community partners in diverse ways.
For now, I invite you to use the next two months to think about times when UTM-based experiences, in the context of COVID-19 or otherwise, made you feel joyful, respected, appreciated—proud to be part of our community. I also encourage you to think about other times when it felt that your values didn’t matter as much as they should—when the university seemed out of step with your priorities. Hold onto those thoughts; maybe even take a note of them. In May, you will have many opportunities to share.
I don’t presume that an exercise in institutional reflection will adequately address the grief and challenges experienced in the past year; nor can it capture the resiliency and compassion that our extraordinary community has displayed. But I do hope that an invitation to think together will convey an abiding truth, one that has become more urgent to affirm after a year of isolation and loss. You matter; your values and experiences matter; you deserve a university that will listen.
Thank you.
Alexandra Gillespie
Vice-President and Principal
University of Toronto Mississauga