Current Students

The 2025 edition of the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability, released this week by London-based Quacquarelli Symonds, placed U of T first overall out of more than 1,700 institutions across 95 countries.

The closely watched ranking evaluates post-secondary institutions for their environmental impact, social impact and governance.

“On behalf of the �ؿ�ζSM, I am thrilled that our university is once again ranked first in the world in the QS Sustainability Rankings,” said U of T President Meric Gertler. “The U of T community is profoundly committed to the advancement of sustainability as one of the most urgent challenges of our time.

“This year’s ranking confirms our resolve to help lead the way to a sustainable future.”

First launched in 2022, the ranking assesses universities based on QS World University Rankings data, including reputation surveys and research output related to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. It also looks at institutional policies, operational data, alumni impact and national data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and World Bank.

To determine environmental impact, the ranking evaluates environmental education, research and sustainability. For social impact, it examines employability and outcomes, equality, health and well-being, impact of education and knowledge exchange. And for governance, the ranking looks at indicators such as student representation and transparent financial reporting.

U of T performed particularly well in the social impact category this year, moving up three spots to first globally. It also ranked fifth in the world for environmental impact and tied for 23^rd in governance.

U of T’s performance led a robust showing by Canadian universities. The University of British Columbia shared fifth spot with University College London, making Canada the only country to have two universities in the top five. Two other Canadian universities placed in the top 50: McGill University (15^th) and Western University (30^th).

The QS sustainability ranking comes as U of T forges ahead with a host of climate-focused initiatives on its own campuses including: Project Leap, a $138-million infrastructure project that will cut emissions on the St. George campus in half by 2027; Project SHIFT, a U of T Mississauga initiative to speed up the transition from natural gas to electricity; and a combination of new climate-responsible constructions and energy retrofits to older buildings at U of T Scarborough.

Spurred by these and other efforts, the university’s three campuses last year made a landmark commitment to reduce more greenhouse gases than they emit in the coming years. And U of T continues to make progress on its pledge to divest from fossil fuel investments in its endowment fund.

At the same time, U of T is working to enhance Canada’s green energy sector through projects like the Grid Modernization Centre, a state-of-the-art facility led by Climate Positive Energy, an institutional strategic initiative, that will serve as a hub for testing, development and commercialization.

U of T is also playing a leadership role in sustainability by engaging with regional, national and international partners. For example, the university acted as a founding member of the City of Toronto’s Green Will Initiative, collaborated with the Urban Climate Action Project to help implement the city’s TransformTO climate action strategy and contributed to the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s Banking on Green playbook, which helps Ontario organizations fund green retrofit projects.

Globally, U of T has convened networks aimed at mobilizing multi-sector partnerships, including the U7+ Alliance of World Universities, the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) and the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN). U of T’s sustainability leaders have also been asked to share knowledge and experiences with other universities in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Germany and other countries.

Most important, U of T is actively creating a new generation of sustainability leaders. Supported by the President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability (CECCS), which recently created a new student leadership subcommittee, more than 2,000 undergraduate courses in 2024-25 now have a sustainability orientation.

Students also have the option of exploring sustainability from various lenses through the Sustainability Pathways program, or to contribute to projects on- and off-campus via the Campus as a Living Lab and Community-Engaged Learning programs.

Overall, U of T continues to be the highest-ranked Canadian university and one of the top-ranked public universities in the five most closely watched international rankings: Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings, QS World University Rankings, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy’s Academic Ranking of World Universities, U.S. News & World Report’s Best Global Universities and National Taiwan University World University Rankings.

President Meric Gertler highlights U of T community's achievements in holiday message

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 14:35:13 +0000

President Meric Gertler highlights U of T community's achievements in holiday message Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 12/10/2024 - 09:35

Topic

Subheadline

“To all our students, faculty, librarians, staff, alumni, volunteers, supporters and partners: Thank you for your contributions to our success”

The �ؿ�ζSM community had a lot to celebrate over the past year, U of T President Meric Gertler says.

In his annual holiday message, President Gertler highlighted U of T’s top spot in the QS sustainability rankings, University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton’s Nobel Prize in Physics and two students who were recognized with prestigious Rhodes Scholarships.

And that was just the beginning.

“We completed state-of-the-art landscapes and buildings on each of our three campuses,” he says in a video. “We broke new ground for several more. We made progress in the ongoing work of reconciliation. And we opened a new chapter in our history with the installation of our 35th chancellor.”

Most importantly, he adds, more than 20,000 students graduated with U of T degrees, joining a global community of more than 700,000 alumni.

“To all our students, faculty, librarians, staff, alumni, volunteers, supporters and partners: Thank you for your contributions to our success.”

U of T marks National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women with tri-campus event

davidlee — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 20:49:21 +0000

U of T marks National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women with tri-campus event

davidlee Fri, 12/06/2024 - 15:49

Cutline

Students read the names of the 14 women killed during the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre during a Dec. 6 event held at Hart House (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Mariam Matti

Topic

Our Community

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Graduate Students

Hart House

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

Undergraduate Students

Subheadline

"Seeing our students here today and recognizing the impact they are having on research and action is important to acknowledge and celebrate”

Members of the �ؿ�ζSM community came together to commemorate the 14 women who lost their lives in the violent attack at École Polytechnique 35 years ago – and to honour all those impacted by gender-based violence.

Students, faculty, staff, librarians and alumni from across U of T’s three campuses marked the Dec. 6 National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women with an event held at Hart House on Friday, while others attended virtually by livestream.

A tri-campus ceremony at Hart House commemorates the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (photo by Johnny Guatto)

A group of students in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering also unveiled an interactive sculpture on the front steps of the Galbraith building on the St. George campus. The design featured 14 candles surrounding a central flame with each candle representing a victim of the 1989 tragedy.

“Each candle has a button; when you press the button, it makes the central flame brighter,” Rebecca Ing, a fourth-year student in materials science and engineering and a member of the design team, told U of T Engineering News.

“This represents our individual role in taking action against gender-based violence”

The student group also organized a memorial ceremony on Friday that took place in front of Galbraith.

Students in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering created an interactive sculpture (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Inside Hart House’s Great Hall, students walked across a stage to read aloud the names and ages of the 14 women killed in the attack (which also left another 10 women and four men were injured): Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault and Annie Turcotte.

The reading of the names was followed by a moment of silence.

The event also featured roundtable discussions, a musical performance by artist Jenny Blackbird, a resource centre and programs co-ordinator at First Nations House Indigenous Student Services and performances by the Skule String Quartet Orchestra.

Jenny Blackbird performs at the Hart House event (photo by Johnny Guatto)

During the ceremony, two U of T students were recognized for their dedication to addressing violence against women, girls, transgender and non-binary individuals with U of T’s Award for Scholarly Achievement in the Area of Gender-Based Violence.

The undergraduate recipient of the annual award was Yunchi "Hex" Li, who is pursuing a double major in sociology and women and gender studies with a minor in sexual diversity studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science. Li’s academic pursuits focus on dismantling patriarchal and heterosexist systems.

Sandy Welsh and Yunchi "Hex" Li pose for a photo (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Roberta Silveira Pamplona, a PhD candidate in the department of sociology with a collaborative degree in women and gender studies, was the graduate recipient. Pamplona is analyzing the criminalization of feminicides in Brazil in her PhD dissertation.

“As Hex and Roberta’s work illustrates, there is such an impressively broad range of work happening at U of T, and we also saw this diversity of topics in our award applications overall,” said Sandy Welsh, U of T’s vice-provost, students, who presented the award to this year’s winners.

Sandy Welsh and Roberta Silveira Pamplona have their picture taken (photo by Johnny Guatto)

“Often this work happens quietly and behind the scenes – we know this is difficult work, and the conversations surrounding the work can be challenging to share – but seeing our students here today and recognizing the impact they are having on research and action, is important to acknowledge and celebrate.”

Marisa Sterling, assistant dean and director, diversity, inclusion and professionalism in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, reflected on how the tragedy spurred a personal exploration of feminism.

The Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering’s Marisa Sterling reflected on how the tragedy spurred a personal exploration of feminism (photo by Johnny Guatto)

“What would change after Dec. 6 is the open acknowledgement that engineering has been an unsafe profession for women for years,” she said, highlighting the importance of efforts such as the inclusion of harassment in the definition of professional misconduct under the Professional Engineers Act, the establishment of programs like Go Code Girl, and the 30 by 30 campaign to increase the representation of women in the field.

She then called for continued remembrance and action to combat gender-based violence and discrimination.

After the award presentation and remarks, attendees were invited for a campus walk to visit the fire at Ziibiing Indigenous garden and to lay a white rose in commemoration of the lives lost.

This year’s hybrid event was co-hosted by the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Hart House and the Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre.

U of T Reach Alliance initiative adds Howard University as its latest partner

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 14:25:01 +0000

U of T Reach Alliance initiative adds Howard University as its latest partner

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 12/05/2024 - 09:25

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Left to right: Howard University Associate Professor Amy Yeboah Quarkume, Howard student and Reach Alliance researcher Zoey Hall and Reach Alliance Executive Director Marin MacLeod (photo by Jamie Napier)

Munk School Staff

Topic

Global Lens

Reach Alliance

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

Subheadline

Founded at the Munk School for Global Affairs & Public Policy, the student-driven Reach Alliance aims to address challenges faced by the world's under-served and under-resourced communities

The Reach Alliance, a student-driven initiative founded at the �ؿ�ζSM that aims to help under-served or under-resourced communities around the globe, has inked a new partnership with Howard University, one of the most prominent historically Black universities in the United States.

The partnership with Howard – the ninth for the Reach Alliance and the first with a U.S. university – was announced at the 2024 Reach Conference and opens a channel for Howard students and faculty members to engage in Reach Alliance projects and case studies.

It will support the expansion of Reach project targets by building access to communities through new idea networks based in the United States.

“Howard university shares a commitment with the �ؿ�ζSM to inclusive excellence which is the key principle driving the work we do at the Reach Alliance” said Reach founder Joseph Wong, a professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and in the department of political science in the Faculty of Arts & Science who is also U of T’s vice-president, international.

Founded at the Munk School in 2015, the Reach Alliance cultivates leadership for solving urgent challenges of hard-to-reach communities – those that are under-served or under-resourced for geographic, administrative or social reasons.

Working in interdisciplinary teams, Reach’s student researchers identify innovative solutions to climate, public health and economic problems by using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guiding framework. The students conduct their research in collaboration with local communities, with support from university faculty members. When the research is done, each team produces a case study report that is shared with policymakers and practitioners.

In less than a decade, the Reach Alliance has grown to include universities in eight countries, with partners in Australia, Canada, Ghana, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom and, now, the U.S. It has launched over 90 case studies and findings have been published in leading outlets including The Lancet, the Stanford Social Innovation Review and the Bulletin of the World Health Organization.

Amy Yeboah Quarkume, a data scientist who is Howard University’s graduate director at the Center for Applied Data Science and Analytics, is among the newest cohort of faculty mentors.

“The Reach Alliance is truly a global partnership network, which allows us to think about how we tackle issues in D.C., where Howard is, but also in Guatemala and Ghana and other places," she said. “Seeing and hearing how others are grappling with the same problems makes one feel as though we can go far if we work together.”

Before the conference started, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth renewed their longstanding partnership with the Reach Alliance through a US$2-million gift to support key investments in enhancing Reach’s impact strategy, as well as strengthen shared network resources. Adding to the current student leadership development program, the funding allows for more cross-university collaboration, expanded knowledge translation and communications capabilities.

The 2024 gathering also expanded on media engagement with Reach initiatives. Sponsor-in-kind Devex, a media platform that focuses on stories of interest to the global development community, followed the gathering with an eye to raising the profile of Reach’s actionable research insights.

“Devex covers stories that we care about, so it felt like a natural fit,” said Marin MacLeod, the Reach Alliance’s executive director. “As we approach 2030, with much progress yet to be made on the SDGs, the time is right to ask: Who is accountable? How are we holding them accountable? And are those that are hardest to reach being accounted for?

“The higher education sector, especially the Reach Alliance, has an important role to play in co-creating actionable research insights and partnering with practitioners and policymakers to see these findings implemented.”

The participation of Devex also supports the flow of actionable information between communities and researchers throughout the world – which Quarkume said was a key strength of the alliance.

“We must find common goals to deal with common issues in order to go back and share information that helps in more than one place,” she said. “I’m excited to meet new people across the globe who are thinking, moving, trying to reach communities that have been made to wait.”

Quarkume added that the recent U.S. presidential election result will impact the role America plays on the global stage, but that she remains committed to solving global challenges.

“Political systems have changed and issues may shift, but we still must find solutions. It will take us working across borders to solve some things.”

U of T Mississauga's teaching lodge to host new course on Indigenous feminisms

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 18:17:52 +0000

U of T Mississauga's teaching lodge to host new course on Indigenous feminisms

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 11/29/2024 - 13:17

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A new, third-year course on Indigenous feminisms will be the first at U of T Mississauga to take place predominantly in the campus's Indigenous teaching lodge (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Topic

Subheadline

“I find that it’s not until students are outside on the land and in Indigenous spaces that they really understand the teachings”

This winter, students taking Maria Hupfield’s “Indigenous Feminisms” course won’t meet in a classroom or lecture hall, but will head to the northern edge of the �ؿ�ζSM Mississauga campus where, nestled in a quiet spot among trees, sits the Indigenous teaching lodge.

Inaugurated in September 2023, the lodge has hosted workshops, conferences and occasional classes – but this marks the first time a course will predominantly be held in the space.

Maria Hupfield (photo by Grégoire Féron)

For Hupfield, an assistant professor in U of T Mississauga's department of English and drama who is cross-appointed to the department of visual studies, the walk to the lodge will be just as integral to students’ learning as the conversations that will take place beneath its canopy.

“This small journey will start the process of moving students away from their usual way of thinking,” says Hupfield, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Transdisciplinary Indigenous Arts. “Then, once they get into the lodge, it defamiliarizes them because they’re not in the usual lecture hall or seminar room. It opens up how they respond to the teaching and how they approach the content.”

A third-year English course, “Indigenous Feminisms” will rely on traditional and modern Indigenous texts, media and performances. Classes will be held in the teaching lodge – which has a wood stove – whenever possible, moving to the Multimedia Studio Theatre only when advanced digital technology is needed.

Leading a course in an Indigenous space marks the latest chapter in a longstanding connection between Hupfield, an off-reservation urban Anishinaabe who belongs to the Wasauksing First Nation, and U of T Mississauga.

An alumna of the university, Hupfield earned a degree in art and art history with a minor in Aboriginal studies – somewhat unusual in the late 1990s. “I became very interested in working at the intersection of Anishinaabe cultural knowledge and Western-based art practices,” she says. “The program made room for me to do that.”

As a student, Hupfield mounted her own exhibits and launched partnerships with Indigenous arts and social services organizations. After graduating, she went on to establish herself as an internationally respected artist, holding exhibitions at prominent galleries across North America and winning prestigious awards.

In 2019, she returned to U of T Mississauga as a faculty member, and amid increased institutional support for Indigenous initiatives, has thrived and expanded the scope of her projects.

As director and lead artist at the new Indigenous Creation Studio, Hupfield leads a team of faculty members and students exploring media ranging from traditional sculpture to video. Her current research, conducted in collaboration with Indigenous communities, aims to bring new life to Indigenous artefacts via the creation of a digital archive that presents each piece in novel ways, such as through storytelling, video and 3D rendering.

She also leads a seminar series for students in the master of visual studies program at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Hupfield also continues to work on an array of projects beyond campus. Earlier this year, she contributed to the first ever Native Fashion Week held in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is also currently presenting an original commission at the Toronto Biennial of Art, an opportunity she describes as “a really powerful moment in my art practice.”

The teaching lodge is equipped with a wood stove and can be used year-round (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

As she looks forward to the "Indigenous Feminisms" course, Hupfield reiterates that Indigenous pedagogy is about doing and experiencing. “I find that it’s not until students are outside on the land and in Indigenous spaces that they really understand the teachings,” she says.

Tee Duke, director of U of T Mississauga’s Office of Indigenous Initiatives, notes that expansion of Indigenous curriculum and spaces – along with hiring of Indigenous faculty – were among the calls to action outlined in Answering the Call – Wecheehetowin, the final report of the U of T Truth and Reconciliation Commission Steering Committee. “It’s an important development to have a course on Indigenous Feminisms taught in UTM’s own teaching lodge," Duke said.

The course also ties into U of T Mississauga’s strategic framework, specifically the central values of truth, openness and reciprocity, according to Terry F. Robinson, associate chair of the department of English and drama. “We’re thrilled to be able to offer this experiential, land-based course, led by inter-disciplinary scholar Professor Hupfield,” Robinson said.

Registration for the course is already full – a fact that is incredibly heartening for Hupfield.

“I love that there’s interest. It’s beautiful,” she says. “More courses like this, held in Indigenous spaces and rooted in experiential learning, will attract more Indigenous students. We need to continue to support Indigenous research and teaching, and focus on retaining Indigenous faculty.

“But so much is happening here right now and I’m happy to be part of it.”

Students from U of T and India’s Ashoka University explore urban challenges in Pune

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 14:20:19 +0000

Students from U of T and India’s Ashoka University explore urban challenges in Pune

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 11/28/2024 - 09:20

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Students from U of T and Ashoka University accompany waste pickers who belong to the SWaCH collective in Pune, India – part of a course offered through the U of T India Foundation and School of Cities India (photo courtesy of Reyansh Lokare)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Subheadline

Undergraduate course in partnership with Ashoka University, near New Delhi, is one of many initiatives now facilitated by the U of T India Foundation

Samantha “Sam” Guevara says accompanying two waste pickers in Pune, India as they went about their daily work offered a window into the social dynamics of the city of more than seven million.

“What interested me was the stigmatization that waste pickers tend to receive from the general public juxtaposed with the pride they have in their work,” says Guevara, a fourth- year student at the �ؿ�ζSM who is pursuing a double major in human geography and political science.

The workers she joined belong to SWaCH Waste Pickers, a co-operative of self-employed waste collectors who are contributing to the region’s environmental and financial well-being.

Guevara, meanwhile, is one of nine students from U of T who, along with nine students from India’s Ashoka University, a private liberal arts institution near New Delhi, recently explored three city-building projects identified by Indian non-profit and civil society organizations as part of a U of T undergraduate course.

Students from U of T and Ashoka gather at the Centre for Development Studies and Activities in Pune for a lecture by a local consulting firm (photo courtesy of Reyansh Lokare)

Offered through the U of T India Foundation and School of Cities India, the International Multidisciplinary Urban Capstone Projects course also saw students join guides for walking tours in Mumbai, attend lectures and develop what Aditi Mehta, an assistant professor, teaching stream, in urban studies at Innis College, calls “critical consciousness.”

The course is one of numerous activities facilitated in recent months by the U of T India Foundation, a partnership between U of T and Tata Trusts. Others include: a pitch competition and incubation program with Social Alpha, an incubator for social impact startups, that saw U of T faculty members participate on the technical jury that helped select 10 winning India-based entrepreneurs; and research projects that bring together U of T faculty members and India-based partners to work on building more resilient and sustainable cities.

Kunjpreet Arora, co-founder and director of India-based brick and paver upcycling startup Angirus, delivers a presentation at a social launch event (photo courtesy of Jake Karpouzis)

For the students involved, Mehta says questioning “why things are the way they are” and understanding their place in the world is a crucial part of their education – and one of the many takeaways they will bring back to Toronto.

“It’s about seeing how things are done in the east and thinking about how we can bring some of this problem solving back to the west,” says Mehta, who accompanied the students to India.

Jake Karpouzis, a fourth-year student in public policy and urban studies, spent his time exploring how the makeshift parking lots and garbage dumps beneath city overpasses, or flyovers, in Pune can be transformed into more valuable spaces that better serve surrounding communities.

“We're putting together a blog of the trip so the various organizations involved can read about it and take those experiences back to the classroom,” says Karpouzis, adding that he was excited by the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in urban studies in another country.

Ashoka University students speak to a vegetable vendor under a flyover in Pune (photo courtesy of Jake Karpouzis)

Kaitlyn Chan, a fourth-year urban studies student, concentrated on transgender studies while in India.

“Our program focused on skill development for the transgender community in Pune,” Chan says. “That includes access to government interventions, employment opportunities, self-efficacy and creating safe spaces.”

Professor Mehta, who created much of the programming with the U of T India Foundation, says the course was often life-changing for U of T students.

“The Indian students were amazing. They really took it upon themselves to be hosts for the Canadian students and they just kept asking, ‘When can we come to Toronto?’,” she says, adding that she is working on a reciprocal learning exchange in both countries.

Karan Singh, a professor of computer science and the associate director of School of Cities India, sees the capstone course as an opportunity to further strengthen U of T’s global reputation.

“We’re looking at U of T as a global brand and in India that is increasingly evident,” he says.

Professor Aditi Mehta (second from left) with students from U of T and Ashoka University and SWaCH workers on the streets of Pune (photo courtesy of Reyansh Lokare)

Andrea Russell, director of international relations in U of T’s Office of the Vice-President, International, says she’s thrilled with how the experience resonated with U of T students.

“It’s a wonderful example of global collaboration and an amazing opportunity for our students to increase their global fluency.”

‘Tree Stories' course connects U of T students to nature, history – and themselves

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 13:58:09 +0000

‘Tree Stories' course connects U of T students to nature, history – and themselves

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 11/27/2024 - 08:58

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The 'Tree Stories' course – taught by Professor Alan Ackerman from the Faculty of Arts & Science's department of English – weaves together elements of literature, history, environmental studies and getting to know the local landscape (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Sean McNeely

Topic

Our Community

Department of English

Faculty of Arts & Science

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

University College

Subheadline

"Individual trees have such rich history and are often overlooked so it's great to learn about them in this class”

On a recent cool and sunny morning, Alan Ackerman’s class sat under century-old elm trees behind the Whitney Hall residence at the �ؿ�ζSM’s University College, much like students did over 100 years ago.

The setting in the historic core of the St. George campus was fitting for "Tree Stories," Ackerman’s first-year English course which examines how we imagine trees in literature and art, and what trees can teach us about our place in the world.

“This course aims to get people in touch with their living world and with parts of themselves that have probably atrophied in their digitized lives,” says Ackerman, a professor in the Faculty of Arts & Science’s department of English. “It's a weave of stories, literature, history, environmental studies and getting to know the local landscape.

“For first-year students, it's a wonderful opportunity for them to get to know aspects of Toronto.”

Ackerman holds most of his lectures outside, visiting locations with a rich arboreal history across the St. George campus – which boasts over 3,300 trees including cedar, birch, ash, oak, maple and many others – and around the city.

Alan Ackerman holds most of his lectures outside, visiting locations with a rich arboreal history across the St. George campus and beyond (photo by Diana Tyszko)

“When I heard the class was always going to be outside, I wasn’t looking forward to that aspect,” says Jennifer Wilton, a first-year student and member of Woodsworth College. “But I’ve really come to appreciate the two hours of class in the fresh air.

“And now when I walk past these elms, I feel like I’m walking past something familiar. Individual trees have such rich history and are often overlooked so it's great to learn about them in this class.”

Ackerman has also held classes in the courtyard of Trinity College as well as the courtyard of University College’s Sir Daniel Wilson Hall, where students met with Danijela Puric-Mladenovic, an assistant professor, teaching stream at the Institute of Forestry and Conservation in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

“She gave us a tour around [University College] where she identified a number of different trees and talked about them in relation to each other and to their ecosystem,” says Ackerman.

Alan Ackerman's class meets for a lecture beneath elm trees behind Whitney Hall (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Outside of campus, Ackerman had the students meet at spots at Queen’s Park, the Mount Pleasant Cemetery and Christie Pits Park.

“I’ve talked about Henry David Thoreau's essay, Walking, and how wilderness is not just something far off in the mountains,” says Ackerman. “There’s wilderness we can discover much closer to home.”

One of the course’s most popular outings was a visit to the Spadina Museum and its gardens, near Casa Loma.

“We talked about the history and ecology of those grounds as we picked apples,” says Ackerman. “We read Robert Frost’s poem, After Apple-Picking, and thought about the form and the content of the poem. We talked about other tree stories about apples, like Johnny Appleseed which is based on a real historical person, John Chapman.”

Students gather the dimensions of a century-old elm tree (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Sam Buonassisi, a first-year Rotman Commerce student and member of St. Michael’s College, relished his time at the Spadina Museum.

“It was such a different environment from my regular lectures, and it was just nice to see a new area,” he says. “I recently moved to Toronto from Vancouver to come to U of T, so I hadn’t had many opportunities to see the city. This was one of those opportunities and I really enjoyed it.”

For Ackerman, the course is an extension of his personal interest in the burgeoning field of environmental humanities. It also taps into his appreciation for nature that grew during the COVID pandemic.

“I spent a lot more time outdoors, especially when the pandemic closed everything,” he says. “Trees became vital in my imagination, especially how trees wind their ways through stories.”

The literature the class studied varied as much as the trees they visited, from some of the earliest-known stories – such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and King James Bible – to poems by Emily Dickinson to contemporary writers like Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass, and The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben.

“We also read authors, poets, essayists and others from a vast array of time periods, places and cultures, not only to consider differences, but to also gain a sense of what we have in common – not only with other members of our own species but all life on this beautiful planet,” says Ackerman.

Ackerman says the course is an extension of his personal interest in the burgeoning field of environmental humanities (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Students are also encouraged to think about their individual relationships with trees by maintaining a “Tree Diary” and writing weekly about their connection to a specific tree.

“The tree I picked is just outside my dorm, and I picked a younger tree in hopes that it would be a bit unique from some of the ones we talked about. Surprisingly, by the time I get outside and get my journal out, something always pops into my head," says Buonassisi, who adds that he now finds himself noticing trees he wouldn't have paid attention to otherwise.

For Wilton, learning about the history of trees has been a source of comfort on campus. “It makes me feel more at home and much less intimidated by this huge school,” she says.

Ackerman says he hopes the experience leaves a lasting imprint on students’ hearts and minds.

“Years after taking “Tree Stories,” they probably won’t remember the names of poems or poets or their professor, but I hope they retain the sense of being on a journey – in pursuit of not just knowledge but of wisdom.”

PhD student's radiopharmaceutical to play key role in clinical trial for lung cancer treatment

rahul.kalvapalle — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 20:59:25 +0000

PhD student's radiopharmaceutical to play key role in clinical trial for lung cancer treatment

rahul.kalvapalle Tue, 11/26/2024 - 15:59

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Stephanie Borlase developed a radiopharmaceutical, which will be used during a clinical trial at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, to track delivery of immunotherapy drugs across the blood-brain barrier (photo by Dana Thompson)

Eileen Hoftyzer

Topic

Breaking Research

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Graduate Students

Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

Subheadline

The compound developed by U of T's Stephanie Borlase will be used to track delivery of immunotherapy drugs to metastases in the brain

A radiopharmaceutical developed by �ؿ�ζSM PhD student Stephanie Borlase is poised to play a key role in a clinical trial that could inform improvements to lung cancer treatment.

The trial at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, planned for 2025, will test whether ultrasound can disrupt the blood-brain barrier and increase uptake of immunotherapy into brain metastases – tumours caused by cancer cells spreading to the brain from elsewhere in the body.

Although immunotherapy has shown potential as a treatment for lung cancer, it is not able to cross the blood-brain barrier. Borlase’s radiopharmaceutical, which she developed as part of her doctoral research at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, will be used to track delivery of immunotherapy drugs to brain metastases with a PET (positron emission tomography) scan.

“This project provides me with the opportunity to learn different aspects of research and be on the forefront of patient treatments,” says Borlase. “It is such an amazing opportunity to be able to see what is happening in the hospital with current patients and clinical trials and know that my research is actually getting to patients.”

Borlase completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Manitoba, before seeking out a PhD program where she could conduct research that could potentially be translated into therapies for patients with hard-to-treat cancers.

In 2022, she began her PhD with Professor Raymond Reilly, director of the Centre for Pharmaceutical Oncology (CPO), whose research focuses on developing radiopharmaceuticals to image and treat cancer.

By attaching radioactive isotopes to highly targeted agents, radiopharmaceuticals allow clinicians to image tumours through scans and deliver therapeutic doses of radiation directly to the tumour.

Borlase has been working towards pairing the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (also known by the brand name Keytruda) with a radioactive isotope that can be imaged by PET – resulting in a radiopharmaceutical that could allow physicians to determine whether the therapy enters the brain and concentrates better in tumours after the application of focused ultrasound.

For the first two years of her PhD, Borlase worked in the CPO’s Good Manufacturing Practices facility to prepare the new radiopharmaceutical for clinical trials, optimizing and formulating the drug in a quality suitable for use in humans, and testing it in pre-clinical models.

Reilly says that this is an exceptional experience for a graduate student. “One of the greatest impacts and rewards of pharmaceutical sciences research is to see your work advanced to a clinical trial to make a difference in patient outcomes, which Stephanie has this wonderful opportunity to do,” he says.

“Not only is she developing the radiopharmaceutical, but she will be working closely with the oncologists and imaging specialists to design and conduct the trial and will get first-hand experience in seeing the results of her PhD research in the PET images of the patients in the trial.”

The trial follows on the heels of another study in which clinicians and scientists at Sunnybrook used a radiopharmaceutical provided by Reilly’s team to track the delivery of a breast cancer drug to brain metastases, resulting in the first evidence that the technique improved uptake of the drug.

For her part, Borlase says she hopes the trial will lead to better therapies for a form of cancer that is notoriously difficult to treat.

“I always hope that researchers can develop new treatments for cancer because it is such a terrible disease that is never going to disappear. Even if we cannot completely cure the brain metastases, we can work to prolong survival to give these individuals more time with their families and friends,” says Borlase, who recently received a Research Training Award from the Canadian Cancer Society and Brain Canada Foundation.

“It's such a rare opportunity for PhD students to be able to work with clinician-scientists or oncologists and actually see their research translate into a clinical setting, so the fact that I am able to do this is incredible.”

Changemakers: U of T students awarded prestigious Rhodes Scholarships

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 14:30:32 +0000

Changemakers: U of T students awarded prestigious Rhodes Scholarships

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 11/21/2024 - 09:30

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Victoria College students Noah Rudder, left, and Amy Mann, right, have been awarded Rhodes Scholarships (photo by Will Dang)

Joe Howell

Topic

Global Lens

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Faculty of Arts & Science

Undergraduate Students

Victoria College

Subheadline

Noah Rudder and Amy Mann will pursue fully-funded graduate studies at the University of Oxford

Noah Rudder was rehearsing for a starring role as the detective Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express at the �ؿ�ζSM’s Hart House Theatre when he received the momentous news: he had just become a Rhodes Scholar.

The world’s oldest graduate fellowship, the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship enables recipients to pursue fully-funded graduate studies at the University of Oxford.

It is awarded following a rigorous global selection process.

“I was so grateful – I feel at home in the theatre, and there’s no better place for me to have taken that call,” says Rudder, a student at Victoria College who’s completing the peace, conflict and justice program at U of T’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy in the Faculty of Arts & Science alongside a major in drama at the Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies.

Rudder is one of two U of T students to be named a 2025 Rhodes Scholar this year. He is joined by Amy Mann, a fellow Victoria College student who’s pursuing a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and statistics.

Mann says she’s looking forward to continuing her research in mathematical biology at Oxford.

“I want to keep studying math and seeing how we can apply it to these big problems – like considering social factors of disease transmission to improve intervention strategies,” says Mann, who is the president of the U of T Mathematics Union.

The pair are among 11 Canadian students who will head to Oxford next fall, joining more than 100 young scholars from around the world.

“On behalf of the entire U of T community, I would like to congratulate Noah Rudder and Amy Mann on this tremendous achievement,” said U of T President Meric Gertler.

“We wish them continued success in their scholarship and look forward to hearing about their accomplishments in the years to come.”

Rhonda McEwen, president and vice-chancellor of Victoria University in the �ؿ�ζSM, said she was “over the moon” for Rudder and Mann. “It is a true privilege to interact with this caliber of young person,” McEwen said.

Rudder, who hails from Ajax, Ont., hopes to combine his interests in social justice and the arts by pursuing master of public policy and a master of fine arts degrees at Oxford.

The president of the Peace, Conflict and Justice Society, Rudder was instrumental in Victoria University’s signing of the Scarborough Charter, a commitment by institutions across Canada to combat anti-Black racism and foster Black inclusion in higher education. “Working with Vic’s Office of the President on the Scarborough Charter inspired me to contribute to an area that I can make an impact,” he says. “I think there are a lot of opportunities to push for spaces for Black individuals at the highest level of education.”

He has also conducted research with the World Bank’s Office of the Chief Economist, focusing on knowledge generation in African countries before 2009 – and has written for and performed in the Toronto Fringe Festival and various U of T productions.

Mann, meanwhile, is passionate about leveraging math and science to address pressing global challenges.

In 2021, she co-authored a paper, published in the journal Atmosphere-Ocean, that examined the reduction in occurrences of cold weather in the Canadian Arctic. She’s now focused on the intersection of climate change and public health. Her current research project seeks to create climate-dependent models of malaria transmission in Cameroon.

She has been involved in sustainability and other causes. At Victoria College, she served as the sustainability commissioner on the Students’ Administrative Council and a student member of the Board of Regents. She also co-founded the student community garden and volunteers at The Common Table, a drop-in program that supports individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty.

“Congratulations to Amy and Noah, both from Victoria College, on being named Rhodes Scholars,” said Antoinette Handley, acting dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science and professor in the department of political science. “Their academic achievements and commitment to leadership and civic engagement are a testament to their hard work and vision.

“We’re incredibly proud to have them represent both Victoria College and the Faculty of Arts & Science at Oxford, and we look forward to the many ways they’ll continue to make a difference.”

McEwen, meanwhile, said Rudder and Mann exemplify the potential that U of T’s younger generation of budding scholars hold in tackling important challenges.

“Both students share a passion for people and embody the multidisciplinary approach needed to address the ‘wicked problems’ of the world – complex issues requiring insights from multiple disciplines,” McEwen said.

“They are curious but compassionate people who will challenge existing frameworks for a better tomorrow. When you meet either of them, you understand that you are with someone who is going to continue to do amazing things.”

U of T among top 15 universities globally for graduate employability: Times Higher Education

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 21:57:35 +0000

U of T among top 15 universities globally for graduate employability: Times Higher Education

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 11/20/2024 - 16:57

Cutline

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Topic

Times Higher Education

Subheadline

The Global University Employability Ranking 2025 is based on survey data and reflects the opinions of large employers

�ؿ�ζSM graduates are among the most highly regarded job candidates in the world.

In its latest ranking of graduate employability, Times Higher Education placed U of T 14^th globally and eighth among public universities. U of T was also the top-ranked public university in North America.

The Global University Employability Ranking 2025 is based on survey data and reflects the opinions of large employers.

“�ؿ�ζSM graduates are some of the best educated on the planet,” said U of T President Meric Gertler.

“The world-class learning opportunities provided to our students and the quality of our scholarship and research give our graduates a distinct advantage in the workforce.”

The annual ranking evaluated 250 universities from 44 countries around the world. It was designed and commissioned by Emerging, a French human resources consultancy. The survey participants are recruiters or managers who supervise five or more new graduates per year; most work in companies with more than 500 employees.

There were 13,240 respondents to the survey from 33 countries. More than 129,000 votes were cast, up from 100,700 votes last year. Approximately 1,000 universities were assessed to derive the final ranking of 250 universities.

U of T has consistently ranked among the top 15 globally in the Times Higher Education employability ranking over the past decade, holding the 12^th spot last year.

This year’s edition of the ranking was led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the California Institute of Technology and Stanford University. Harvard University and the University of Cambridge rounded out the top five.

Four Canadian universities joined U of T in the top 100: McGill University (31^st), University of British Columbia (36^th), Université de Montréal (84^th) and McMaster University (88^th).

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U of T among top 15 universities globally for graduate employability: Times Higher Education