Toronto – The University of Toronto (U of T) will receive $55.52 million from the second round of the province’s SuperBuild Growth Fund to address much-needed capital expansion.
The university received 37 per cent of the total funds available to the university sector in this round of SuperBuild allocations, bringing its total share of program money to $124.5 million. The funds will be used for expansion of undergraduate instructional facilities at U of T at Scarborough (UTSC) and U of T at Mississauga (UTM).
“This is good news from the province,” said U of T president Robert Birgeneau, following the announcement April 14. “We made an excellent case to the provincial government on our need for additional capital funding and the new support will help provide welcomed new instructional space for our students.”
“This is the beginning of a new era at both UTM and UTSC,” said Birgeneau. “These SuperBuild funds will enable us to enhance significantly our educational programs at our east and west campuses. Of course, our ambitions go considerably beyond what
will be possible with this current allocation. We look forward to a continuing productive partnership with the province to guarantee that we can offer exemplary education to our students on all three campuses.”
At UTSC, a new building is planned for social sciences and humanities and will include classrooms, teaching labs, enhanced study space, staff and faculty offices, as well as specialized study and exam rooms for students with disabilities. The 30,000 square foot building will create a new main entrance to UTSC and will also house a new welcome centre for visitors and students. These changes will free up space in the existing buildings to allow for expansion of computer labs and research facilities.
“We are thrilled with the SuperBuild announcement,” said Professor Sue Horton,
vice-principal (academic) and dean of UTSC. “We’ve had a tremendous increase in applications this past year for our new co-op programs, our joint programs with Centennial College as well as our many existing offerings. This SuperBuild
funding will enable us to take additional new students at U of T at Scarborough and provide much-needed space for new faculty.”
U of T expects to register some 9,500 first-year students this fall, up from 7,600 last September. UTSC projects a more than 50% enrollment increase at its campus between 2002-2004. To date, the Eves government and its partners have made a historic $2.6 billion investment in the post-secondary system that is creating more than 135,000 new student spaces. This is the largest investment in the post-secondary system since the 1960s.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Melissa Joseph, UTSC – (P) 416.287.7089 – (E) joseph@utsc.utoronto.ca