Provost’s Holiday Message to the Community

Dear Members of the Trinity Community:

As we come to the end of 2019, we have so many reasons to be grateful. At the heart of Trinity College are our wonderful students. We are so fortunate to have such outstanding, committed and compassionate students here at Trinity. As this term draws to a close, I would particularly like to acknowledge the amazing group of Student Heads and other student leaders. On top of their studies, they commit themselves to making a difference here at Trinity, at the University of Toronto and in the broader community. It is a privilege to work with all of them.

I want to extend a special note of thanks to our alumni community at this time of year. The support of our dedicated alumni enables us to do so much to enrich the experience of our students here at Trinity. We could not reach our aspirations without their support, whether as mentors and volunteer leaders, or through their generous philanthropy for everything from bursaries to academic programming to creating wonderful new space. We know how talented our students are and we are committed to doing everything possible to ensure they flourish. And we are able to do that only thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our alumni.

Trinity’s staff, faculty, and academic community also deserve a warm vote of thanks for everything they do for our students and the College. This is an amazing group of colleagues who are dedicated to educating and nurturing our students. They are an integral part of the Trinity community and I am so grateful for their invaluable contributions and deep dedication. Our staff and faculty are constantly thinking about how we can improve student life at the College and we are all so lucky to have them.

It has been an immensely exciting and productive year so far at Trinity. It is hard to believe that just last January we began construction of the new Student Services Centre in Trinity’s main hall. This beautiful and welcoming space is now so bustling with activity, full of light and life, that it is hard to believe that it has only been there for a few months. The new Centre has fulfilled our hopes and more–transforming the student experience by integrating our key student services and bringing them together in such an important and welcoming space.

Our new building is also quickly taking shape! Over the last few months, our architectural team, Mecanoo of The Netherlands in partnership with Toronto’s RDH Architects, has developed a schematic design that is beautiful and responsive to Trinity’s historic campus as well as to the connections between our buildings and the surrounding landscape. The design is ambitious both in its sustainability goals and in the positive difference it aims to make for those that inhabit the space. Please stay tuned as we move into the design development phase of the project.

This fall we were delighted to announce the visionary support of Brian (8T2) and Joannah Lawson, whose gift of $10 million will support an innovative sustainability initiative that includes not only the new building but also academic and co-curricular programming and student life. The Lawsons’ generous gift is the largest single donation in Trinity College’s 168-year history and an inspirational way to kick off our Living Trinity Campaign—an historic effort to place the college at the very forefront of higher education. Again, please stay tuned: you will hear more about our plans for the new space, for academic programming and of course for student support in the days ahead.

Coming up early in 2020: we are getting ready to launch a newly designed Trinity College website which will greatly enhance our ability to communicate effectively with those who are using phones or other devices to access information about the college. We will let you know when this launch happens and we hope that you will explore and let us know what you think.

I am so very proud to be part of this incredible community. Thank you for your individual and collective efforts that make Trinity such a special place. I wish you all a wonderful and relaxing holiday season with your family and friends and all the best for 2020!

Peace on Earth,

Mayo Moran
Provost and Vice-Chancellor

Categories: Provost’s Messages