Wellbeing and Belonging at UTM
Dear colleagues,
I’m writing to introduce our wellbeing and belonging committee and to share some ways for you to shape its priorities. Thanks to Heather Hines for chairing this committee – and to Nader Boutros, Nythalah Baker, Tee Duke, Ravi Gabble, Mai Lu, Dina Moreira, Steven Suraci, Kathi Wilson, and Shahid Zafar for serving as its first members.
Committee Priorities
This committee came together around a shared belief in the power of connection at work. Our staff, faculty, and librarians do good for others when they have supports to be well themselves.
So, I’ve asked this committee to:
- Assess campus resources for employee wellbeing and belonging, identifying opportunities to make supports more easily navigable.
- Examine wellness strategies at other leading universities, suggesting practices we can adapt here.
- Listen to our employee community, inviting diverse perspectives on the services and connections people need to feel well on campus.
- Develop proposals for wellbeing and belonging initiatives, as grounded in U of T’s commitments to equity, anti-racism, and reconciliation.
- Collaborate with tri-campus partners, including on U of T’s wellness review committee, to link university-wide plans with campus-specific contexts.
In spring 2025, UTM will synthesize these efforts into our first wellbeing and belonging plan, with data-informed goals to advance priorities of our strategic framework, including physical, mental, and social health.
Collaborators welcome
To shape UTM’s culture of wellness, you can:
- Register for a consultation to inform the wellbeing and belonging plan.
- Volunteer as an ambassador to receive support in organizing wellbeing and belonging events.
- Connect with the committee chair to ask questions or set up a time to meet.
Wellbeing and belonging matter individually, since everyone deserves to bring their full selves to work and lead vibrant lives beyond it. They also matter for the success of our collective mission.
We better support our students when we feel supported ourselves. We better advance knowledge when we know our colleagues are standing right beside us. So, thanks to this committee and others for strengthening supports to make it possible.
Best,
Alex
Alexandra Gillespie
Vice-President and Principal
University of Toronto Mississauga
