I am writing on behalf of the senior leadership at UTSC to add to the words of gratitude expressed by the President in his message to the U of T community on March 18th.
We recognize that these have been stressful and anxiety-filled times in your personal and UTSC-related lives. My team and I want you to know that words cannot convey how much we appreciate your individual and collective efforts – as students, faculty, and staff – to ensure that we are able to manage, as much as is humanly possible, the tremendous challenges imposed on us by the outbreak of COVID-19.
You have demonstrated commendable resilience, understanding, concern for others, mutual support, teamwork, and community-spiritedness that have enabled us to get to this point. These are the hallmarks of what makes all of us proud to be members of the UTSC family. The fact that you demonstrated them in the midst of a significant and severely disruptive crisis, such as we are dealing with, speaks volumes about the depth at which these values are anchored at UTSC.
I want to assure you that we have robust structures and processes in place to ensure that we are making the best decisions and taking appropriate actions to support you and our shared mission. It is in this context that you are doing your part and many are going above and beyond the usual, around the clock, to protect our collective interest under trying conditions. Based on what we have accomplished together under these circumstances, it is clear that your commitment to the common good is unwavering.
The future remains unknown, but we will get through these times together, our community will thrive and we will sustain our commitment to inclusive excellence, because of our collective capacity to adapt, our resourcefulness, and our ingenuity. As we move forward, we will continue to make decisions that are informed by facts and responsive to the exigencies of the times. We will also ensure that they are in keeping with our values, the good of UTSC and U of T, and your wellbeing and that of your loved ones.
We will keep you informed and apprised of developments as necessary through the UTSC COVID-19 updates. Please don’t hesitate to avail yourselves of the resources that are posted there.
I want to conclude by, once again, thanking you most sincerely for all that you have done and continue to do to get us through this challenge. I look forward to the restoration of normalcy on our campus and to seeing all of you back soon. Until then, be well, take care of yourselves, and each other.
With gratitude,
Wisdom J. Tettey, PhD, FGA
Vice-President, University of Toronto
Principal, University of Toronto Scarborough