Diversity

U of T launches new Institutional Equity Commitments website

ksoobria — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 16:10:33 +0000

U of T launches new Institutional Equity Commitments website ksoobria Tue, 02/13/2024 - 11:10

The ��Ƶ community has a new website that enhances the way it tracks institutional progress on addressing recommendations from its equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) working groups and task force.

Launched in December 2023, the Institutional Equity Commitments website outlines the commitments U of T has made in response to recommendations from the Anti-Black Racism Task Force, Antisemitism Working Group and Anti-Asian Racism Working Group; provides status updates on each initiative; and shares articles, photos, and resources that bring this work to life. 

“The university is committed to building on the strong foundation for change laid in the reports of our EDI working groups and task force,” said U of T President Meric Gertler. “It is also imperative that our actions be transparent and accessible to all members of our community. We hope that the new Institutional Equity Commitments website will foster an increased awareness of what we have achieved together so far and inspire participation in the many initiatives yet to come.” 

Developed through collaboration among the Office of the President, the Office of the Vice-President & Provost and the Office of the Vice-President, People Strategy, Equity & Culture, the Institutional Equity Commitments website is an evolution of a pilot project that began in 2021. The pilot version, known as the Commitments Dashboard, was created to track the implementation of Anti-Black Racism Task Force recommendations and later expanded to include Antisemitism Working Group recommendations. Over the years, there has been a growing need to enhance the existing site. 

“Guided by our community’s feedback, we have designed a site that is easier to navigate and clearly demonstrates institutional accountability while celebrating our shared progress,” said U of T’s Vice-President, People Strategy, Equity & Culture Kelly Hannah-Moffat.

The updated website has a redesigned look and enhanced user experience, including featured stories, progress snapshots, and status updates on the recommendations. Visitors can filter the entire page by specific report. Additionally, divisions or offices responsible for reporting progress on each commitment are now identified. 

“The nature of equity work is that it is an ongoing journey, characterized by continual growth and change,” said Jodie Glean-Mitchell, executive director, equity, diversity and inclusion.

“The newly revised Institutional Equity Commitments website provides the university with a tool to put EDI accountability into action as we engage our collective responsibility to foster an equitable and inclusive university.”    

Members of the U of T community are encouraged to explore the new site and consider how the working group recommendations might inform change in their own areas of the university. Feedback on the site and stories about local progress on EDI commitments are also welcome and can be submitted using the feedback form.  

“We are fortunate to have a very engaged community of students, faculty, librarians and staff who make important contributions to this work, and we’re glad to have their continued input,” said Trevor Young, U of T's vice-president and provost. “Our ongoing goal is to better deliver and report on the institutional commitments we've made to equity and to improve transparency and accountability.”

U of T launches new Institutional Equity Commitments website

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

Melinda Mattos 

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Eva Lau, co founder of Two Small Fish Ventures, says universities key to Toronto's growth in tech

bresgead — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 20:04:34 +0000

Eva Lau, co founder of Two Small Fish Ventures, says universities key to Toronto's growth in tech

bresgead Mon, 06/26/2023 - 16:04

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Eva Lau, pictured here speaking U of T's at True Blue Impact Day, will speak about the importance of diversity in entrepreneurial mentorship at a special session on June 28 (photo by Polina Teif)

Adina Bresge

Topic

Our Community

Alumni

Creative Destruction Lab

Diversity

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship Hatchery

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Startups

Subheadline

U of T alumna is among the members of the U of T community speaking at this year's Collision conference

As one of the entrepreneurs on the front lines of Toronto’s rise as a modern tech hub, Eva Lau says the ��Ƶ will play a critical role in keeping the city on the cutting edge by fostering the next generation of innovators.

“I’ve been in this ecosystem long enough to see how it has matured,” says Lau, managing director and co-founder of Two Small Fish Ventures, which invests in early-stage tech companies and has backed successes such as SkipTheDishes, Sheertex and U of T drug discovery startup BenchSci.

“And I have to give credit to the universities.”

An alumna of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Lau is among the U of T founders, alumni and faculty expected to speak at the Collision conference from June 26 to 29 – a list that includes University Professor Emeritus ��Ƶ, known as “the Godfather of AI,” who has garnered global attention for sounding the alarm about the existential risks of the technology he helped developed.

At a special session on June 28, Lau – who was formerly the head of community at online storytelling platform Wattpad – will talk about the positive impact that diverse mentors can have on founders as they go through the accelerator and incubator experience.

She recently spoke to U of T News about the benefits of diverse mentorship and how U of T’s emphasis on entrepreneurship has bolstered Toronto’s startup scene.

How does having diverse mentors help founders and startups grow?

Mentorship is something that a lot of founders may take for granted. They’ll say, “I need someone who understands this space.” If they’re building financial products, they’ll look for someone in the financial sector, for example.

But if we continue to iterate in a domain, we will always get incremental improvements of existing products. Disruption actually happens when people put their minds together and think outside the box. You need to surround yourself with people who think differently from you, who bring different perspectives.

Mentorship is more than getting advice about how to follow other people’s paths to success. It’s about building your own DNA, looking at things from a 360-degree perspective and making use of the advice around you so that you can chart your own path to build a product that works for everyone.

How did your education at U of T Engineering help you as an entrepreneur?

When I was at U of T, I studied industrial engineering. One of the subjects that intrigued me most was human factors – the product-human interface, designing products that suit human needs.

Addressing human issues is what innovation should be all about. When you design a product, you need to understand how humans will interact with it, because that’s what’s going to drive user adoption.

That was a real eye-opener for me. It’s not enough to create something that solves a problem for people. You have to think about how people are going to use your product to solve that problem. I’m not only the creator; I’m creating a solution for an actual person.

How have you seen Toronto’s startup scene evolve and where do you see it heading?

I’ve been in this ecosystem long enough to see how it has matured. And I have to give credit to the universities. Back when I was at U of T, entrepreneurship was barely mentioned. Nowadays, entrepreneurship is a building block of education.

At U of T, there’s the Creative Destruction Lab at the Rotman School of Management, the Entrepreneurship Hatchery at U of T Engineering and so many other incubators and accelerators.

That seed of entrepreneurship gets planted very early on, right after high school. And in the past couple of decades, we’ve seen more and more tech companies founded in Canada – Shopify, Wattpad, Wealthsimple and many others. That’s inspiring a lot more young people to follow suit.

We’re also seeing more budding entrepreneurs get first-hand experience working at companies as part of their education. For example, the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering has the Professional Experience Year Co-op Program, where students can earn up to 20 months of work experience before they graduate. That’s a game-changer.

That’s why we’re seeing the maturity of the startup ecosystem. Our young generation is no longer limited to learning from textbooks, professors and parents. They can get a diversity of mentorship during their formative years.

What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs at U of T, particularly women or people from diverse backgrounds?

Absolutely reach out to our amazing alumni network. And don’t limit yourself to alumni from your faculty. Reach out to alumni from the engineering school, or perhaps in philosophy, or physics, or history or business. Bring in different experiences to create your own recipe for success.

What will you be keeping an eye out for at the Collision?

I am so keen to listen to ��Ƶ and other U of T co-founders talk about trends in artificial intelligence. I’m absolutely a believer that AI is going to bring so much more productivity improvement – or even disruption – to our ecosystem.

Certainly, there are concerns around AI. But the history of technology shows that innovation always creates some friction in the beginning, but the long-term gains are beneficial to everyone.

I want to hear from the people who are at the forefront of AI, and as importantly, see how their messages are received. How is the crowd reacting to what these influencers are saying? Because that’s a good temperature check.

Sarah Qidwai, a U of T graduate student, builds online community to promote diversity and accessibility

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 20:59:58 +0000

Sarah Qidwai, a U of T graduate student, builds online community to promote diversity and accessibility

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 12/16/2020 - 15:59

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U of T PhD candidate Sarah Qidwai created the Virtual History of Science, Technology and Medicine group (Virtual HistSTM), a digital community focused on diversity and accessibility for academic discussions, conferences and events (photo by Meng Lim)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

Graduate Students

When the global pandemic cut short her research trip to the United Kingdom in March, Sarah Qidwai tweeted an idea about a new online community for scholars feeling isolated and disconnected.

She received an enthusiastic response. So, she created the Virtual History of Science, Technology and Medicine group (Virtual HistSTM), a digital community focused on diversity and accessibility for academic discussions, conferences and events.

Within just a few months, Virtual HistSTM amassed hundreds of members from all over the world and was presenting a full slate of planned events.

“It ended up snowballing into something much bigger than any of us who were involved could ever have imagined,” says Qidwai, a PhD candidate at the ��Ƶ’s Institute for the History & Philosophy of Science & Technology in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

“I started it, but it became a success because everybody joined in and contributed. It shows what a community-oriented approach can achieve in the middle of such a chaotic year.”

Qidwai and her team, working alongside members of the British Society for the History of Science (BSHS), put the group’s ideas about accessibility and diversity into practice when co-ordinating content for the BSHS Global Digital History of Science Festival in July.

Organizers of Virtual HistSTM events at the conference reached out to people who needed accommodations. They provided transcripts as well as audio/video material as alternative ways to access the conference.

“I think everyone should be an accessibility advocate,” says Qidwai. “People who require those accommodations need a way to talk about it without being outed, and we should not make it their responsibility to advocate for accessing these spaces.”

The conference also provided an opportunity to challenge some of the Western bias and elitism that freezes many young Black, Indigenous and people of colour out of the professional mainstream, according to Qidwai.

“It's not as simple as bringing someone through the door; it's about how we are helping them stay in the field. That's something we need to think through with all these initiatives that we're doing,” she says.

After working on the BSHS conference, the Virtual HistSTM advisory board saw the opportunity to encourage more diversity and accessibility in their own events, addressing things such as participants with restricted internet access.

They also blended ideas like traditional paper-and-discussion panels with master classes and publishing workshops.

Qidwai hopes the innovations they introduced will influence others.

“It's not enough to bring in women of colour or scholars from low-income backgrounds, for instance. It’s about what we are doing to support them and seeing them succeed in the future,” she says.

Qidwai says she is grateful to be receiving support from her institute and its director, Associate Professor Edward Jones-Imhotep. She is working as a research assistant under the Faculty Arts & Science Pedagogical Innovation Fund and has access to video conferencing and transcription services. Her group is also reaching out to the wider community for support.

Qidwai says the project would also not be possible without her Virtual HistSTM advisory board, a group of students and professors from across North America. They include: Kelcey Gibbons, PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Megan Baumhammer, PhD candidate at Princeton University; Edward Guimont, adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut-Stamford; and Daniella McCahey, assistant professor at Texas Tech University.

“We’re hoping what we're doing will expand and we’ll be able to bring more people into the discipline itself, and continue to grow,” says Qidwai.

“I think the next step is to turn the Virtual HistSTM group into a pedagogical resource.”

U of T launches first-ever student diversity census to identify barriers to student success

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 17:22:26 +0000

U of T launches first-ever student diversity census to identify barriers to student success

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 11/16/2020 - 12:22

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(photo by Daria Perevezentsev)

Topic

Undergraduate Students

The ��Ƶ is launching a new initiative to support its commitment to advance student equity and accurately represent its diverse community.

Developed by the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students, the first-ever U of T Student Equity Census is a voluntary survey that will help university leaders address systemic barriers to inclusion and build a stronger foundation for its faculties, programs and co-curricular activities to support underrepresented communities.

Starting on Nov. 16, students can access the quick, seven-question survey through Quercus, ACORN, or the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students’ website. The survey, which has no deadline, is open to all undergraduate and graduate students enrolled on U of T’s three campuses.

“Our community is keen and interested in addressing the systemic inequities that exist within our society, but also within the educational space and within our institution,” says Professor Micah Stickel, acting vice-provost, students.

“We hope that all students recognize that participation in the census will be a way in which they can advance this collective effort.”

Modelled on a Statistics Canada survey, the voluntary U of T survey will ask students questions about gender identity, sexual orientation, Indigeneity, racial and/or ethnocultural identity, disability and educational attainment of their parent or guardian.

Responses to the U of T Student Equity Census are confidential and only aggregated data from the survey will be published. Students have the option to skip questions and can edit their answers after submitting the survey.

Stickel explains that demographic data will help to identify the intersectionality of students’ identity and give a more accurate picture of how to improve initiatives such as student recruitment and support services on campus.

The results from the U of T Student Equity Census will also help identify what barriers exist within academic programs, specifically for students who are Indigenous, Black and racialized communities, women, students with disabilities and students from the LGBTQ2S+ community.

“Every individual has many experiences and factors that make them who they are, and the census will help facilitate important, honest and reflective conversations to advance inclusion at the ��Ƶ,” says Sandy Welsh, vice-provost, students.

“This survey will allow us to examine and, if necessary, rebuild frameworks within the institution to ensure every student is truly represented.”

Data from the U of T Student Equity Census will augment information from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which U of T participates in every three years. Used by all universities in Ontario, the NSSE asks first and final-year students questions about their experience in and outside of the classroom.

“This survey supports efforts to advance equity, diversity and inclusion at U of T,” says Karima Hashmani, U of T’s executive director of equity, diversity and inclusion. “It will help by identifying and informing strategies to address systemic barriers of access and inclusion.”

An advisory roundtable, made up of students, staff and faculty, is being organized to determine how to effectively report and use the demographic data from the census. The roundtable will also compile a report of census feedback, which is set to be published by the end of next summer.

“In order to advance equity for our students, we hope to develop a framework and a process in which various offices can make a request to use the data in an appropriate way, while respecting the privacy and confidentiality of our students,” Stickel says.

“As a foundation for this effort, we will respect that, as an institution, students are voluntarily sharing these aspects of their identity with us, and we will always hold this in high regard.”

Meet the Black snowshoers who walked 1,000 kilometres across Canada in 1813: U of T expert

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 14:43:04 +0000

Meet the Black snowshoers who walked 1,000 kilometres across Canada in 1813: U of T expert

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 02/18/2020 - 09:43

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John Marrion was part of the 104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot. The 104th soldiers once snowshoed over 1,000 kilometres in about 50 days during the War of 1812 (Beaverbrook Collection of War Art/Canadian War Museum/CWM 19810948)

Topic

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Sport

The Conversation

Snowshoeing in the woods on a sunny winter’s day is my idea of fun. When playing in the snow, winter seems to pass faster.

Over two-thirds of Canadians participate in outdoor recreation, according to Statistics Canada. Some 13 per cent of these nature fans enjoy snowshoeing. Compared to skiing, snowshoeing is low-key, inexpensive and easy to learn. And it can be done anywhere as long as there is snow.

Snowshoe walks and races were once the most popular winter sports in Canada, long before hockey seized that prize. A century ago, snowshoe clubs were scattered all over the country. The most important was the Montréal Snowshoe Club, formed in 1840. It organized professional and amateur races.

Lord Stanley of Preston being “bounced” as a member of the Montréal Snowshoe Club in 1866 (Wm. Notman & Son/McCord Museum /VIEW-2425
)

Some Black men once snowshoed over 1,000 kilometres in about 50 days. The epic trek took them from Fredericton, N.B., to Kingston, Ont. Unlike us, these men were not doing it for outdoor recreation.

The men were part of the 104th New Brunswick Regiment of Foot. The regiment left Fredericton on Feb. 16, 1813, and followed the banks of the frozen Saint John, Madawaska and St. Lawrence rivers until they reached Kingston. They arrived in April.

The 600 or so soldiers of the 104th trekked across the country to bolster Canadian defences against an impending United States invasion. This became known as the War of 1812, even though the conflict was spread out over the next two years.

The Black men in the 104th included Harry Grant, Richard Houldin and Henry McEvoy. They are a minor footnote in the War of 1812 and are usually ignored in accounts of the conflict.

The 104th is an under-recognized military march on par with great marches in history. Here the route is mapped out (Drew Kennickell/The St. John River Society)

Indigenous technology

The erasure of these Black soldiers of the 104th follows the usual pattern of deleting Black people from the mainstream history of Canada, as their presence or absence raises questions about race and empire, and genocide and slavery.

When Black people are acknowledged, it is usually in reference to the Underground Railroad, and the fugitives’ flight from slavery to freedom in the Great White North. The focus on this part of history ignores the 200 years of slavery in Canada, and how living in its wake continues to shape Black lives today.

The 104th long march was possible as the army used Indigenous technology and techniques to survive the winter slog. For example, a pair of men each pushed and pulled a toboggan loaded with their food and gear. The toboggan was a traditional Indigenous mode of winter transport.

The men wore moccasins. These Indigenous shoes are perfect for walking on ice or snow as they are light, warm and waterproof.

Then there were the Indigenous snowshoes. They were essential winter gear as they were the easiest way to move in thick snow – if you were a hunter, soldier or just out for a walk.

With just boots on, with each step, one would sink up to knees or hips in the white stuff. In a different situation, this could be lethal. Cold legs are prone to frostbite and frostbite can end in amputation or death. Snowshoes spread the body’s weight so that one can walk and not sink into the powder, and can travel further with less effort.

Lithograph on wove paper of ‘Snowshoeing Club of Montréal.’ Several men are depicted walking in the snowy woods with snowshoes (Henry Sandham, 1842-1910/Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. R9266-1432.CC BY-NC)

On a recent snowshoe hike, I passed through a strand of cedar trees, brushing a few twigs as I trudged by. The trees released a perfume that was fresh and invigorating. In my mind, it is the smell of Christmas.

The men of the 104th also liked the cedars. And not just for the scent. They used the branches to make a bed each evening, as they huddled in a makeshift teepee made from saplings and insulated with branches and moss. A blanket and a fire in the middle kept them warm in the sub-zero nights.

‘We were made for this’

Ten years ago, Canada hosted the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. The Hudson Bay Company, our iconic retailer of Canadiana, made a marketing campaign with the tagline, “We were made for this.”

In the images of the campaign, pioneers and later athletes skiied, hiked and tobogganed in a winter wonderland. Almost all the people visible in the advertisement are white. Thus it made an explicit connection between race, winter and outdoors recreation. It reflected two dominant nationalist mythologies of Canada – as the “the Great White North” and the “great outdoors.”

There are many issues with the advert, but I am interested in how it whitewashed Canadian history and outdoors recreation. What has changed in the past decade?

Snowshoes are cheap to rent at ski resorts and parks and from outdoor recreation stores. Snowshoeing is marketed as a truly Canadian winter sport that is accessible to different age groups, fitness levels and abilities.

It’s a great way for families to spend a winter day outdoors. The marketing photographs are filled with happy white people, in bright neon-coloured jackets, romping in the snow. What is missing from the images are Indigenous, Black and other people of colour. Snow is free, but race plays a role in who is wanted and who gets access to snowshoeing.

John Marrion, depicted here, was part of the 104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot (Beaverbrook Collection of War Art/Canadian War Museum/CWM 19810948-008)

The joy of the outdoors

On my snowshoeing ramble, other people were racing through the woods. They were snowshoe runners, dressed in light running gear. Lots of lycra and colour. They shouted greetings as they sailed by.

Something was drilling in the woods. I followed my ears, swivelled my head, and spotted a hairy woodpecker getting its lunch of grubs out of the bark of a tree. The little patch of red on the back of its head was a bold splash of natural colour in a landscape of white snow and beige trees.

I snowshoed about six kilometres on my minuscule trek that day. And then I was done. Tired, ready for hot chocolate and cake in a warm café.

The Black soliders and and their fellow 104th snowshoers would have taken about two hours to do that distance. They had 1,000 kilometres to snowshoe. One day I plan to recreate their historic feat as part of my project of mapping how race intersects with outdoors recreation, geography and adventure travel.

Jacqueline L. Scott is a PhD student at the ��Ƶ.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Gender-diverse corporate boards reduce financial misconduct: U of T study

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 16:32:43 +0000

Gender-diverse corporate boards reduce financial misconduct: U of T study

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 02/12/2020 - 11:32

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Aida Sijamic Wahid, an associate professor of accounting at U of T Mississauga and the Rotman School of Management, wanted to study the original issue that sparked the push for more women on boards (photo courtesy of Rotman School of Management)

Topic

Rotman School of Management

U of T Mississauga

Women

Putting women on the board of an organization is not only the fair thing to do, it leads to better financial reporting, research from the ��Ƶ shows.

A new study of more than 6,000 U.S.-listed companies found that firms with a mix of women and men on their boards outperformed those where boards had no women or only one, with fewer financial reporting restatements and a lower incidence of fraud.

Diversity was key. The improvements levelled out once boards approached gender parity. That suggests the difference may come from a broadening of perspectives around the board table and not because women brought superior skills or other characteristics, said the study.

“If women are better at something than men, then we should see that, as we add more women to the board, each additional woman should produce more value. But that’s not the case,” said study author Aida Sijamic Wahid, an associate professor of accounting at U of T Mississauga and the Rotman School of Management.

Increasing the number of women on corporate boards was floated by regulators to reduce conformist board-thinking after the 2001 collapse of energy giant Enron in an accounting fraud scandal. It’s the reason why Wahid chose to focus on financial reporting as an indicator of board performance.

“I wanted to go back to the original issue behind why we even began thinking whether boards needed to be more diverse,” Wahid said.

She dug into data for 6,132 firms from 2000 to 2010, including information on board directors, financial restatements and restatement irregularities.

The benefits of more women continued to increase up to about three female directors before starting to diminish, with an average total board size of about nine directors.

Only about 20 companies, mostly in apparel or cosmetics, had boards with a majority of female directors at any time during the decade, according to the research. The percentage of firms with at least one female director dropped during the period, from 56 per cent to 54 per cent. The percentage of women on boards that had any women increased from 7.6 per cent to 9.1 per cent.

The results held for the periods before and after the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act tightened rules on corporate governance in the United States.

Although it’s been nearly two decades since gender diversity on boards was raised post-Enron, boards have been slow to change and research has been inconclusive. The state of California, in a controversial move, is requiring all publicly traded companies to have at least one woman on their boards by the end of this year and between one and three female directors by 2021.

“We’re still not there when it comes to diversity and gender diversity,” said Wahid. “The issue has created certain pressures from investors – they’re the ones moving the needle. But many firms are very slow to respond to it.”

The study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Business Ethics.

St. Michael's College student uses social media to celebrate diversity, build U of T community

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 16:12:21 +0000

St. Michael's College student uses social media to celebrate diversity, build U of T community

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 02/10/2020 - 11:12

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With a focus on Black History Month in February, Oghogho Abigail Iyekekpolor launched a social media campaign, called #SoulsofSMC, to inspire students and ensure representation at St. Michael's College (photo by Emma Graham)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Music

St. Michael's College

Undergraduate Students

Oghogho Abigail Iyekekpolor, a second-year ��Ƶ student at St. Michael’s College, understands the importance of feeling represented.

She recalls sitting in a high school class in Toronto as the work of Caribbean poet and playwright Sir Derek Walcott was being discussed.

“I looked around my class and I was the only Black person, yet here were all these other students engaged in his work. It almost brought tears to my eyes,” Iyekekpolor says.

She had a similar experience this semester when, on the first day of one of her classes, a Black woman professor walked in to teach.

“It took me telling my friends what it meant to me for them to understand,” Iyekekpolor says. “People don’t recognize how important it is to have people they can relate to who are models for them.

“It’s important for people to take the time to think about how other people – and they themselves – are represented.”

Iyekekpolor is now putting that understanding into action at St. Mike’s by launching a new social media campaign called #SoulsofSMC. The campaign, to be overseen by the college’s office of Student Life, will focus on inspirational student stories that motivate their peers to get involved in a range of activities.

“It’s great to know there are other students at St. Mike’s who share your values and experience,” Iyekekpolor says.

@USMCStudents’ #SoulsofSMC campaign continues with Erwin-Jeffrey Komguem, who says that “Getting involved [at @uStMikes] was definitely the best decision I’ve made in university.” @uStMikesPres @UofTStudentLife @univcan https://t.co/X47FvNxd8U
— University of St. Michael's College (@uStMikes) February 10, 2020

Weekly posts will focus on someone – usually a student leader – who will select from a list of questions to share her or his experience at St. Mike’s, offering answers to questions such as how to develop a sense of St. Mike’s as home or how to navigate cultural challenges. The option to choose which questions to answer promises that the profiles will be as unique and diverse as the students themselves.

Many weeks the posts will be linked to a theme, including Black History Month during the month of February. Iyekekpolor and Student Life Associate Emma Graham have a lengthy list of suggested themes on how to celebrate the community.

Double majoring in neuroscience and psychology, with a minor in French, Iyekekpolor was a participant in her first year in St. Mike’s SMC One program the Gilson Seminar in Faith and Ideas. Iyekekpolor also works part-time as a Student Life programming assistant, splitting her time between handling social media posts and helping plan events with various clubs on campus. Graham says it was Iyekekpolor’s idea, for example, to plan a pair of workshops on African and Caribbean cooking to mark Black History Month.

When she’s not engaged in school or work, Iyekekpolor also belongs to an a cappella singing group through the Faculty of Music and is preparing for a big competition. Her long-term goal is to pursue a career in medicine.

U of T named among Canada’s 10 best employers by Forbes magazine

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 16:45:38 +0000

U of T named among Canada’s 10 best employers by Forbes magazine

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 01/29/2020 - 11:45

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Staff members chat at the reception desk outside The Bridge at U of T Scarborough (photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Topic

Human Resources & Equity

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

The ��Ƶ is once again listed as one of Canada's top employers according to Forbes magazine.

The global media company's annual list of Canada's Best Employers ranks U of T 10th on its 2020 list – the highest of any university employer in Canada.

"We invest in our people so they can be their best at U of T,” said Erin Jackson, U of T's chief human resources officer in the division of Human Resources & Equity. "We have over 10,000 employees and a two per cent turnover rate, which is quite remarkable compared to other higher education institutions."

U of T attracts, retains and engages its workforce through a number of intentionally inclusive, diverse and equitable initiatives that support employees over various life and career stages. This year, HR & Equity introduced the role of Executive Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) to develop, enhance, and support the EDI work already being done across U of T's three campuses.

"The university has a longstanding and fundamental commitment to developing and advancing an intentionally inclusive working and learning environment," said Jackson. "From taking steps to close the gender pay gap to creating pathways for under-represented students and offering unconscious bias training for faculty and staff, we work hard to ensure our community investments are sustainable and tailored to meet the diverse needs of all members."

U of T offers eligible employees a comprehensive, competitive suite of benefits. For example, equitable compensation, generous parental leave and child care benefits, tuition waivers, phased retirement and a defined benefit pension plan are available for many faculty, librarians and staff. A True Blue Recognition Platform provides an online space to house many of the annual awards that make up U of T's formal recognition strategy and offers peer-to-peer functionality so that colleagues can informally recognize each other for small victories and day-to-day accomplishments.

The Forbes list of Canada's Best Employers surveys 8,000 Canadians working for businesses with at least 500 employees. Respondents are asked to rate how likely they would be to recommend their employer to others, and to nominate organizations other than their own. The final list ranks the 300 employers that receive the most recommendations.

Five supports students in U of T Engineering need to know about

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 16:16:47 +0000

Five supports students in U of T Engineering need to know about

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 11/05/2019 - 11:16

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As the inclusion and transition adviser, Mikhail Burke helps to empower students toward a more well-rounded university experience (photo by Laura Pedersen)

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Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Graduate Students

Undergraduate Students

Mikhail Burke keeps his office door open.

As the inclusion and transition adviser at the ��Ƶ’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, part of Burke’s job includes empowering students and guiding them toward a more well-rounded university experience. Each week, he sees students for informal discussions during his designated office hours.

Some drop in because they’re struggling to stay motivated in their studies, while others say they haven’t found their footing at the university. In addition to his own advice and mentorship, Burke is often able to point these students toward a range of supports at U of T Engineering and across the university to help undergraduate and graduate students succeed – and not just in the classroom.

“Student success should be viewed as a combination of self-realization and co-curricular enjoyment,” says Burke.

“A student has succeeded here if they’re able to identify their goals within this institution – is it a high GPA? Is it managing your time better? Is it building community or advocating for others? – and feel empowered to achieve those things.

“Defining what you want to get out of your time in university is actually hard, and I deeply empathize with that.”

He encourages students to visit him if they’re struggling to adjust to university life, feel disconnected from their classmates and the U of T community, feel unmotivated or are struggling with time management – or just need someone to talk to.

View inclusion and transition adviser drop-in hours

Coffee with Chris

Chris Yip is the dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering (photo by Roberta Baker)

While Burke meets with students during office drop-in hours, Chris Yip, the dean of the engineering faculty, prefers to chat over coffee.

Throughout the year, he hopes to meet directly with the faculty’s student body to learn more about their experiences, whether one-on-one, or through open forums such as his newly launched “Coffee with Chris” event.

“I believe it’s important to hear from students directly and candidly so that we, as a faculty, can better support their development into the engineers of tomorrow,” says Yip.

During the first “Coffee with Chris” on Nov. 4, students were welcomed to voice their thoughts and concerns on topics like: mental health and wellness; equity, diversity and inclusion; and overall student experience at U of T Engineering.

Towards Inclusive Practices Session (TIPS)

Overcoming imposter syndrome – which occurs when a person doubts their abilities and feels that their achievements are unearned or “fraudulent” – can be challenging at any age and at any stage of a person’s career.

Towards Inclusive Practices Sessions (TIPS) creates a space to allow students, staff and faculty to know they aren’t going through this, or other issues, alone.

Hosted by the Engineering Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Group (EEDIAG), the TIPS topics are directly impacted by conversations on equity, diversity and inclusion. Previous TIPS events welcomed staff and graduate students to discuss accessibility and student accommodations in design teams, for example.

This week, TIPS hosted its first workshop on imposter syndrome for undergraduates.

“Imposter phenomenon affects us all, myself included,” says Cori Hanson, the assistant director of student experience and teaching development. “It can especially impact those who are underrepresented on campus, whether they are racialized or first-generation Canadians, or gender non-conforming, among other factors.”

The workshop included tangible ways to support others and care for oneself, and a panel discussion by undergraduate students who openly shared their experiences grappling with imposter phenomenon.

TIPS workshops take place every other month. On alternate months, EEDIAG hosts Open Discussion, a more informal gathering open to all members of U of T Engineering to share ways to create a more welcoming environment at the faculty.

Check out upcoming TIPS and open discussion dates

Alumni mentorship program

Alumni Luigi La Corte and Victor Xin remember signing up to be mentees of the faculty’s alumni mentorship program. They found the experience so valuable that once they graduated, they came back to volunteer – not just as mentors, but as co-chairs.

Between the two of them, they’ve mentored more than 15 students and counting. “We know the curriculum is structured, but life isn’t,” says La Corte, who now works as a project manager at private equity firm, Plenary. “Having gone through the professional and personal growth of my undergrad years, I felt the value of sharing that experience as a mentor.”

Since 2005, the program has matched undergraduate and graduate students with alumni mentors who help students achieve success in the classroom, in the lab and in their career paths.

Xin, who is now a managing partner at investment firm Athena Capital, remembers one mentee who aspired to follow in his footsteps in finance. “I helped him prep for job interviews and introduced him to colleagues working in different roles in banking,” he says.

“At the end of the program, I’ll always remember him saying, ‘I wish I had met you sooner.’ That’s the value of doing a mentorship program – it’s having someone help you fine tune your goals and how to achieve them.”

The application to be a mentee in the alumni mentorship program is still open for this year

Engineering Campus Experience Officers (engCEOs)

Students looking for more informal peer-to-peer mentorship can now reach out to 12 Engineering Campus Experience Officers (engCEOs).

The newly launched program, made possible through the dean’s strategic fund, allows students to meet with peers to discuss and seek advice on any student experience topic, whether it’s keeping up with coursework or making friends.

The engCEOs represent all engineering streams and offer different perspectives on student experience – from international students to commuters.

“The students even came up with a motto: ‘More than marks,’” says Hanson. “Yes, marks are important, but what else is going on in your life, and what else is important to you and how can we support that?”

Hanson hopes resources like engCEOs will encourage more help-seeking behaviour on campus, “where students feel it’s absolutely OK to ask for help. Part of learning is asking questions.”

Connect with an engCEO

U of T alumna fosters next generation of scientists through Visions of Science

davidlee1 — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 16:46:38 +0000

U of T alumna fosters next generation of scientists through Visions of Science

davidlee1 Tue, 10/08/2019 - 12:46

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“Youth in low-income communities face barriers to programming, especially in STEM,” Eugenia Duodu says. “The barriers are structural, but also social and sometimes psychological.” (photos courtesy of Visions of Science)

Topic

A high school mentorship program played a big part in helping Eugenia Duodu find success in the sciences. Now, the award-winning chemist and chief executive officer of Visions of Science Network for Learning pays it forward, ensuring that other young people from marginalized communities can also see themselves as future scientists.

The ��Ƶ alumna grew up in Etobicoke, where she lived in social housing as the only child of a single mother. Watching Bill Nye the Science Guy on television sparked her childhood love of science and, in high school, Duodou attended the Faculty of Medicine's Summer Mentorship Program for students of Indigenous and African ancestry. It gave her the opportunity to shadow scientists – and, suddenly, Duodu saw a different future for herself.

She applied to U of T Mississauga, earned a bachelor's degree and then a PhD in medicinal chemistry. During her studies, she volunteered with Visions of Science, a charitable program delivering free STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs to marginalized youth in low-income communities across the Greater Toronto Area.

“I wanted to engage with an organization that connected STEM and the community,” says Duodo (pictured left), who volunteered as a facilitator for hands-on science workshops. By 2015, she was leading the growing organization as its new chief executive officer.

“Youth in low-income communities face barriers to programming, especially in STEM,” Duodu says. “The barriers are structural, but also social and sometimes psychological.”

As a result, students from low-income communities are underrepresented in STEM fields and research. It is a familiar and personal topic for many of the staff and volunteers with Visions of Science.

“We also come from those neighbourhoods and understand, first-hand, what those barriers are,” Duodu says. “We are trying to bridge the inequities that exist by offering programming in an accessible way.”

“I hope that my story will open doors for other people to decide for themselves where they want to be,” Duodu says

Under Duodu’s leadership, Visions of Science has grown from six communities to serve more than 500 students in 29 communities across the Greater Toronto Area.

Its flagship Community STEM Club programs offer year-round weekly workshops, field trips and science days at post-secondary institutions to students in Grades 3 to 8. In 2019, the organization added new STEM-themed summer day camps in three communities. In the Peel Region camp, students conducted lab experiments with the Amgen Biotech Experience and collected water samples from nearby Erindale Park.

“The experience lets students take the knowledge they learned in the program to implement it in real-life situations,” says Hamna Awan, manager of communications and marketing with Visions of Science. “The data they collected went into a real database that will be used by scientists.”

In 2017, Visions of Science created the STEM Community Leaders program for high school students. It offers leadership skills development and experiential learning with a particular focus on career and education paths in STEM. The program included a three-day retreat at U of T Mississauga where participants live in residence and attend STEM workshops.

“The experience shows high school-age youth what life at UTM looks like and helps them envision themselves as post-secondary students,” says Awan. “They take part in hands-on workshops facilitated by UTM staff and faculty, and get to see what science looks like at the post-secondary level.

“They will be graduating soon. We’re excited to see where they take their learning.”

Duodo says the organization's programs are supported by a network of partnerships, as well as mentorship from volunteers and staff.

“All of those components work together to provide meaningful engagement and programming,” she says.

Volunteering is the backbone of the program, drawing on a pool of about 100 volunteer facilitators, half of whom are U of T students.

As new programs are added, the Visions of Science leadership team is growing, too. The current leadership of the organization is also comprised of former volunteers, like Awan, who first got involved during her undergraduate studies.

“We get to reach out to students while they are students at the campus, engage them in our programming and then ultimately seek to grow them and engage them in larger ways in the organization,” Awan says.

Duodu continues to hold close ties with her alma mater, returning often as a featured guest speaker and to host Visions of Science events on campus.

“I hope that my story will open doors for other people to decide for themselves where they want to be,” she says.