Unsupported Browser

Your Browser is out of date and is not supported by this website.
Please upgrade to Firefox, Chrome, or Microsoft Edge.

The Founding College of the University of Toronto
Search this site

Message from Principal Stock to UC Community

Announcements

To the University College community:

Happy New Year! It is a pleasure to be able to welcome everyone back to campus. I hope you were able to find some time to unwind and decompress over the break and to regain some energy as we move into the winter term.

 I would like to start by saying thank you to our staff members who kept our residences running over the winter break and who provided support for those of our students who stayed in residence over the holidays. This crucial support is very much appreciated by our students and the College. Equally, UC is again housing students from Ukraine this term, and I am grateful to UC staff for their additional engagement with these students.

 The UC building continues to be inaccessible from King’s College Circle due to the ongoing construction on central campus. Please use the west and east side doors to enter the building. The steam tunnel construction in Sir Dan’s Quad has been completed and the doors to H-Wing and Bissell House are no longer closed. Renovations in the Laidlaw Wing are ongoing to prepare for the exciting new location of the Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies. I am asking for your patience as these projects evolve – they have certainly been disruptive but serve to improve the College and its surroundings. The Owlery, the new café on UC’s third floor, conveniently accessible through our new elevator, will open shortly.

 As announced in December, Melissa Szopa has accepted a new position on campus, and the search for a new Executive Assistant to the Principal is under way. In the interim, the uc.principal@utoronto.ca email account is continuously monitored. The UC announcements email will be sent out less frequently than usual at this time.

 UC will be hosting some exciting events in the coming weeks! Please join us in person or on Zoom livestream for a guest talk on a relevant topic: “University Land Grabs: Indigenous Dispossession and the University of Toronto” by Dr. Caitlin Harvey, University of Cambridge, on Thursday, January 12, 4:00–6:00pm in UC 179 (please register here). The F.E.L. Priestley Memorial Lecture Series will be delivered by Prof. Glen Coulthard, University of British Columbia, on Tuesday February 28, Wednesday March 1, and Thursday March 2, from 4:30–6:00pm, in a hybrid format in the Paul Cadario Conference Centre at Croft Chapter House and livestreamed over Zoom. We look forward to more events and lectures this term, so please check the UC website regularly.

 Please be reminded that the next University College Council meeting is taking place on Friday, January 27, from 1:30–3:30pm both in-person and over Zoom in a hybrid format. This Council meeting will feature a presentation on U of T Health and Wellness by Heather Kelly, Executive Director, Student Life Programs & Services and Janine Robb, Executive Director, Health & Wellness. Further information on the next College Council meeting will be available soon. I hope you will be able to attend these events and Council.

Importantly, please also remember that the University of Toronto has many mental health supports and resources available to all students, staff, faculty, and librarians.

For Students

For Faculty & Staff

I look forward to working together as we continue to create a welcoming and stimulating experience for our students at the college in 2023.

Markus Stock
Principal, University College
Vice-Dean, College Relations, Faculty of Arts & Science
Professor of German and Medieval Studies
University of Toronto