Provost Mayo Moran’s Holiday Message to the Trinity Community

Posted: December 18, 2023

Happy Holidays: compiled images from fall 2023

Happy holidays! (left) Our construction cranes lit up for the season; (centre) End-of-term cake served at the Holiday Dinner; (right) Thanks to our student leaders for decorating the tree in Strachan Hall.

Dear Members of the Trinity College Community:

As we come to the end of 2023, we have so many reasons to be grateful. Trinity is thriving thanks to everyone – students, faculty, staff, alumni and volunteers – working together to make Trinity the very best place it can be. It’s been an exceptionally active term, and it’s been so wonderful to witness the buzz of activity and energy on campus. At the end of my message, you’ll see a snapshot of some of this term’s happenings on campus.

Students, you are at the heart of Trinity College. Your commitment to your studies, ideas for community building and acts of kindness is inspiring. Thank you for making a difference at Trinity and in the wider community.

Faculty and staff – your steadfast dedication benefits our students and strengthens our community. Our students are so lucky to have you at the helm of their university and student experience.

Alumni, whether you are mentoring students, taking on volunteer leadership roles or giving to the College, your support allows our students to reach their potential. We are so grateful to have generous and committed alumni who support us in so many ways.

Your unprecedented generosity to the Living Trinity Campaign has enabled us to build our new flagship facility – the Lawson Centre for Sustainability, a LEED platinum, zero-carbon, mass timber building – and support our innovative Integrated Sustainability Initiative. Scheduled to open in 2025, the Lawson Centre will add new academic, social and dining spaces, and increase the number of residence beds from 450 to 800! The crisis in student housing has rightly received a great deal of attention and here at Trinity, every year, we have to turn away students who want to live with us. These additional 350 beds will allow more students the opportunity to reside on campus and embrace the collegiate experience. We could not have done this without the generous support of so many members of the Trinity community – thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

On the construction site, the concrete columns and foundation walls have been poured and detailed excavation work continues (see photo below). We are especially excited about the first delivery of mass timber (locally sourced) from St. Thomas, Ontario, which will arrive any day now (view notices here). We will keep you posted about this important milestone. To help finance the construction, we have secured a labelled Green Loan. I’m happy to report that Trinity’s Lawson Centre is the first post-secondary institution in North America to secure this type of green financing, a fitting tribute to this visionary addition to our beautiful campus.

Views of the construction site: compiled images from fall 2023

Lawson Centre for Sustainability: (left) View of the construction site from our solar-powered camera (Dec. 13, 2023); (middle) Donning safety gear for a site tour (Oct. 19, 2023); (right) View of concrete footings and foundation walls (Dec. 11, 2023).

Our generous alumni also continue to provide visionary support for our students and our other critical priorities. You will hear more about this in the new year, but here I wanted to thank the many members of the Trinity community who have stepped up to help us ensure that Trinity offers the best possible environment for our talented students. Alumni have continued to support so many initiatives including our ground-breaking mental health programming and our bursary program. I am especially excited to announce a new $1 million gift to fund the Tugwell Loveland First Generation Awards. Gay and Norman Loveland have already been incredibly generous, including supporting the Welcome Desk at the Lawson Centre. Now, this first of its kind gift will take our student financial support to the next level with its creation of dedicated resources for students who are the first in their families to pursue post-secondary education. The funding is very important in these inflationary times, but so is the message that Trinity’s doors are open to all students of talent. Thank you Gay and Norman!

As you may know, we are coming to the end of both Professor Michael Ratcliffe’s second and final term as Dean of Arts & Vice-Provost, and my second and final term as Provost & Vice-Chancellor and the search processes are underway. Although stepping down will be bittersweet, it has been an absolute privilege for both of us and we will savour the last six months serving this incredible community.

On a final note, with winter break just around the corner, I hope you are able to recharge and spend time with family and friends. For members of the community facing difficult situations here or abroad, please reach out if you need support or someone to talk to.

I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and all the best for 2024!

Mayo Moran
Provost & Vice-Chancellor