University Operations

Professor Scott Mabury, a renowned environmental chemist, will serve as ��Ƶ vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships and vice-provost, academic operations for another three years.

At a meeting on Dec. 15, the university’s Governing Council approved an extension of Mabury’s term until June 30, 2026.

“Professor Mabury’s visionary leadership of this large and complex portfolio has had a profound impact at the ��Ƶ,” President Meric Gertler said. “The extension of his term ensures that the university maintains momentum and maximizes opportunities to complete the major initiatives currently underway.

“I am deeply grateful to Scott for his outstanding service to the university, and for his willingness to continue in this key leadership role.”

Mabury was already serving as vice-provost, academic operations, when he became U of T’s inaugural vice-president, university operations in 2012.

From the start, Mabury says, the idea of putting a professor in charge of this vast portfolio was to better align the university’s operations with its academic mission.

Mabury says as he watched Ron Saporta, chief operating officer, property services and sustainability, present the President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability’s 2022 report to Governing Council, it was clear how much progress had been made toward this goal.

“We’re talking about operations and research and courses and students in this very integrated way,” he says. “The premise in the origin story of the portfolio has come to pass.”

Mabury has led several key initiatives to make U of T’s campus more sustainable. Among his recent accomplishments:

The Climate Positive plan that aims to see the St. George campus reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than it emits by 2050.
A $56 million partnership with the Canada Infrastructure Bank to support sustainable infrastructure projects.

The Landmark Project, slated for completion in 2023, that will transform the historic core of the St. George campus into a greener, more accessible park-like setting, and make Front Campus home to Canada’s largest urban geoexchange field.

But even as U of T’s leadership in sustainability wins recognition, there’s more work to be done, Mabury says.

His vice-presidential role was expanded in 2019 to include the newly created real estate partnerships portfolio, a reflection of his leadership in establishing U of T’s “four corners” strategy to develop on-campus housing, innovation space and other services.

In his extended term, Mabury says he hopes to further develop U of T’s real estate assets to advance the university’s mission while generating an economic return. To achieve this, Mabury says, he plans to leverage what he sees as one of his greatest assets: his team.

“I’m blessed with exceptional and talented leaders in my portfolio and, paraphrasing Steve Jobs, we’ve hired smart people so they can lead the way.

“Our priorities include delivering thousands of units of university housing, to help attract and retain faculty, staff and students, and complete the vision that is the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus by building the second phase building with over 400,000 square feet of bioscience labs critical to advancing the innovation economy in Toronto and Canada.”

Mabury’s portfolio oversees about 1,800 people across the three campuses and departments ranging from design and engineering to food services. Key responsibilities include campus and facilities planning, project development and information technology and cybersecurity.

He also supports the provost on budgetary matters to secure the long-term financial health of the university.

A fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Mabury is among the most highly cited scholars in his field. His research interests remain primarily focused on the environmental chemistry of fluorinated organic chemicals.

‘We all have a responsibility’: Meet six U of T essential staff members keeping our campuses running despite the pandemic

sungjimi — Wed, 03 Jun 2020 03:12:35 +0000

‘We all have a responsibility’: Meet six U of T essential staff members keeping our campuses running despite the pandemic sungjimi Tue, 06/02/2020 - 23:12

When the novel coronavirus forced the university to close non-essential spaces in mid-March, many staff, faculty and librarians had to adapt to remote work – sometimes while homeschooling or caregiving.

Essential staff, such as those who keep our campuses secure, clean and operational, continued to come to campus, ensuring workplaces are safe and ready to welcome everyone back once restrictions lift. In addition, residence staff and researchers have continued to come to campus to support students and conduct time-sensitive research.

“Our many essential workers are working hard to keep our facilities running,” says Ron Saporta, chief operating officer of property services and sustainability. “From responding to emergencies to fixing critical equipment to cleaning and disinfecting our physical spaces, essential staff across the university’s campuses have truly risen to the many challenges of operating during these times and adapting to new circumstances and new realities.”

The facilities and services department alone has more than 400 essential staff who continue to work on-site at the three campuses. These dedicated staff members include caretakers, tradespeople such as plumbers and electricians, building operators and engineers, property managers, fire prevention and hazardous materials specialists, switchboard operators, building patrol and campus police, recycling and waste management, campus movers, shipping and receiving and more.

In addition to maintaining the campus grounds, essential staff support on-campus residences that have remained open to house students, as well as offices and labs conducting time-sensitive or COVID-19-related research.

On any given day, hundreds of staff deliver vital services on-site and they will play a critical role in creating and supporting a safe environment once more people and activities return to campus.

Meet six essential staff members who have continued to work on campus during COVID-19.

Ryan Dow and Anastasia Shimansky: St. George Campus Police

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Ryan Dow is a staff sergeant with Campus Police (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Ryan Dow, staff sergeant of the Campus Police’s Resource Unit, says there was uneasiness among the police force when the lockdown was announced.

“When this started, we were scared. Everybody was. Nobody really understood how dangerous this virus could be,” he said. “But it came down to leadership. We all agreed to be positive instead of dwelling on the what-if scenarios and ensuring that we kept communication open to stop officer burnout.”

As staff sergeant, Dow hadn’t donned a uniform in years, but he and other police managers didn’t hesitate to wear them again in order to cover shifts for officers who had to self-isolate or had to care for their children at home. His responsibilities during the pandemic include ensuring staff have enough personal protective equipment and developing procedures to allow for physical distancing while maintaining security on campus.

Dow notes that there has been a heightened sense of unity since the pandemic began. He emphasizes the dedication of the officers and says this is something that he attributes to the university culture – one which is inclusive, approachable and supportive.

“We have each other’s backs to keep this university safe,” says Dow.

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Anastasia Shimansky is a special constable with Campus Police (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Special Constable Anastasia Shimansky echoed Dow’s initial feelings of uncertainty but adds that she has found that we are all resilient.

“The new lifestyle we’ve had to live for the last couple of months is difficult and unusual. But we’ve learned that it is doable and we can do it,” she says. “But I know it’s not easy for everyone.”

Shimansky says with less activity on campus, people have been more open about approaching the officers with questions or asking for support.

“It’s important now, more than ever, for us to be a physical presence that can provide a sense of security and comfort for the people who are still on campus,” she says.

Tarun Patel: U of T Mississauga Building Operations, lead hand engineer

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Tarun Patel, a lead hand engineer, monitors the building automation system in the Central Utilities Plant at U of T Mississauga (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

The job of a building engineer involves a lot of behind-the-scenes work. For the last 20 years, Tarun Patel, a lead hand engineer, has been helping to maintain the heating, ventilation and cooling systems – among other responsibilities – of the 29 properties on the U of T Mississauga campus.

As the team of 15 engineers manages major changes to their work as a result of the pandemic, such as staggering shifts to accommodate physical distancing, they must also manage regular yearly challenges such as the switch from heating to cooling as warmer weather approaches.

“This changeover season is a busy one,” he says. “Some of our staff members are immunocompromised so they’re in self-isolation. We’re a bit short-staffed but we’re doing our best to keep everyone comfortable, especially in the spaces where researchers are still coming in.”

Patel notes that with a smaller crew, he’s been grateful to see upper management take a hands-on approach.

“They could be working from home, but they come in every day to help us manage the load,” he says. “Everybody was anxious when the lockdown began, but our managers have always supported us from the beginning. They told us to take care of ourselves first and have provided us with extra sanitizing supplies and PPE.”

Patel says he feels less anxious now. With strict distancing and sanitizing protocols in place, plus fewer people on campus in general, he says he feels comfortable going into work.

Kwame Bloomfield: U of T Scarborough Facility Operations, assistant manager

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Kwame Bloomfield, an assistant manager with U of T Scarborough Facility Operations, labels supplies (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

A largely empty campus isn’t new for Kwame Bloomfield. As the night supervisor overseeing trades on the U of T Scarborough campus, he usually doesn’t see much of the typical campus hustle and bustle. But he says things feel different now.

“It feels a bit eerie,” he says. “Not because campus is empty, but the reason behind it.”

Now that he’s working day shifts, Bloomfield says he feels reassured to see an empty campus, knowing that people are adhering to shelter-in-place orders.

Bloomfield and his team of caretakers and tradespeople have increased their disinfecting protocols to go over each area multiple times in a day. They have also increased the number of hand sanitizer stations by 40 per cent and have ensured disinfecting wipes are available to essential staff.
He says keeping these spaces safe for university leaders, students, staff and researchers is important, but the impact goes beyond the campus.

U of T Scarborough has opened up space on campus to the disaster relief organization GlobalMedic, which is organizing food distribution to those in need in the community.

“We’re also cleaning and maintaining the space that GlobalMedic is using, so that they can continue to operate and reach those people,” Bloomfield says.

According to Bloomfield, a large part of why his job is rewarding is because he can see the impact it makes. “There’s a special sense of appreciation at U of T Scarborough – there always was,” he says. “It’s part of what makes it such a nice place to work.”

“Nowadays, everyone is thinking about everyone else’s health, even in the way they sign off on emails. There’s a lot of well-wishing and checking in on health. It’s unusual, but it’s welcome.”

Matthew Malcolm: U of T Mississauga Stores/Shipping & Receiving, supervisor

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Matthew Malcolm, supervisor at U of T Mississauga Stores, hauls in a shipment (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

When Matthew Malcolm first heard news of a potential lockdown, he started to think ahead. As the supervisor of shipping, receiving and stores at U of T Mississauga, he knew he had to stock up on supplies for researchers and other essential staff who needed them.

With many workplaces shutting down, some courier companies assumed that shipping and receiving on campus was closed and diverted supplies back to their warehouse.

“Not only was I finding alternate suppliers for our stock, but I had to contact all our couriers to let them know that we were open and accepting packages,” he says.

Malcolm, a 25-year veteran U of T staff member, knows that undelivered shipments could make a big impact on research.

“We have to ensure that we have enough supplies for researchers to reopen their labs with minimal disruption once it’s safe to do so. Being designated as ‘critical staff’ means it’s my job to make sure all of this is taken care of,” he says.

Like many, Malcolm felt a sense of uncertainty at the start of the pandemic. “It’s only natural,” he says. “But I think I’ve adjusted fairly easily and now, the out-of-the-ordinary has become ordinary.”

Stanley Czerniec: St. George campus, lead hand caretaker

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Stanley Czerniak, a lead hand caretaker, poses with a new sterilizing gun that the caretaking team has recently begun using (photo by Johnny Guatto)

In his 35 years of working at U of T as a caretaker on the St. George campus, Stanley Czerniak says the COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything he’s experienced. But despite some concerns expressed by his family and neighbours, he isn’t worried.

“If you have work to do, then you have to go to work,” he says. “We all have a lot of responsibility to take care of these buildings.”

He says it was a bit of shock when the campus became mostly vacant before the end of the spring semester, but he and his fellow caretakers quickly adjusted by implementing stricter disinfecting processes and using a new sterilizing gun. The caretaking staff have completed 3,400 projects in 75 buildings on the St. George campus, including deep cleanings and making necessary updates to lightbulbs and lamps in every room.

“I like that it’s a little quieter on campus because we’ve been able to be more productive, but I hope that this virus goes away soon and things go back to normal,” he says. “Whatever that may be.”

‘We all have a responsibility’: Meet six U of T essential staff members keeping our campuses running despite the pandemic

Building operations team member Genene Assefa checks on generator room equipment in the Central Utilities Plant at the ��Ƶ Mississauga campus (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Jenny Rodrigues

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More than a spring cleaning: Simcoe Hall and Convocation Hall undergo delicate restoration work

noreen.rasbach — Thu, 30 May 2019 15:31:25 +0000

More than a spring cleaning: Simcoe Hall and Convocation Hall undergo delicate restoration work

noreen.rasbach Thu, 05/30/2019 - 11:31

Cutline

“We take tremendous pride in our role as caretakers of Simcoe Hall, Convocation Hall and the other architectural jewels of our campus,” says U of T's Scott Mabury about the cleaning of the buildings taking place now (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Topic

University Operations

Conservation

Convocation Hall

If you’ve walked through King’s College Circle lately, you may have noticed something different about the exterior of Simcoe Hall: gleaming yellow brick where there was previously an ashen façade.

That’s because Simcoe Hall and the adjacent Convocation Hall – the 112-year-old building, site of an important rite of passage for generations of ��Ƶ students – are getting a cleaning.

The job is a delicate – and high-profile – one given the age of the structures, which are among the most recognizable heritage buildings on campus. The work will be paused for spring convocation and other events, but is set to resume in July.

“We take tremendous pride in our role as custodians of Simcoe Hall, Convocation Hall and the other architectural jewels of our campus,” says Scott Mabury, vice-president of university operations and real estate partnerships.

“That’s why we make sure we’re working with the right people to ensure that we’re maintaining our heritage buildings the best we can.”

The restoration project began by enlisting external expertise in buildings sciences and restoration. Next, a series of tests on mock-ups and on inconspicuous patches of brick on non-visible areas of the buildings were carried out by heritage restoration specialists.

After experimenting with different approaches – from the composition of cleaning materials to the pressure levels of compressed air and water – restoration specialists working under the guidance of consultants settled on different methods to use based on the type of brick, says Ron Saporta, chief operations officer of facilities and services.

He adds that these methods are widely used in the heritage building maintenance world.

“It’s important that we bring in specialty consultants and contractors to give us advice on this,” Saporta says.

“They advise us on the methodology based on the specific condition of the building, and they continually do site reviews and monitor the progress of the work.”

With more than 50 heritage buildings on its three campuses, and another 30 owned by federated colleges, U of T is a major steward of the city’s historic structures, working closely with the City of Toronto and observing best practices and standards for the care of the buildings.

In the case of the Simcoe Hall and Convocation Hall projects, among the key factors taken into consideration was the colour of the brick. Being light yellow, the bricks on the façade of Simcoe Hall and Convocation Hall are prone to staining, the extent and character of which can vary from one brick to the next.

“Being a lighter colour, these bricks may be more vulnerable to staining than a darker-coloured brick, but that also makes them more dramatically good-looking when you clean them,” Saporta says.

The cleaning also reveals subtle differences between the bricks in Convocation Hall and the attached Simcoe Hall, built 17 years later. The buildings’ bricks feature complementary shades of yellow, but Saporta says they’re not identical.

“That’s because they were two slightly different looks of bricks to begin with.”

There are even variations in the texture of bricks within the façade of Simcoe Hall itself, notably on the west elevation of the building, which has yet to be cleaned.

The bricks have a coarseness to them that pre-dates the cleaning process, so crews working their way through each elevation must continually adjust their cleaning methods to account for differences in brick texture.

Another important element of the cleaning effort was the removal of ivy draping the outside of the building. While the foliage lends a distinguished aesthetic to campus buildings, it comes at a potentially high cost.

“Ivy on a heritage building can cause a lot of surface damage,” says Patrick Brennan, senior property manager. “The removal of ivy makes the building look a little different than it may have looked in the past, but it’s the right thing to do to protect the brick.”

Once the time-consuming work is completed, it will likely be many years before Simcoe Hall and Convocation Hall are due for another cleaning.

“The due diligence taken in caring for Convocation Hall in particular speaks to the pride and seriousness with which we take our responsibility as stewards of our heritage buildings,” says Mabury. “As the site of convocation ceremonies, lectures and so many other momentous events for over a century, Convocation Hall is truly a bridge to our past.”

“Our careful efforts at cleaning and heritage conservation will ensure that we carry forward that connection to future generations of U of T students.”

Business continuity planning: A risk and responsibility shared by all

sungjimi — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 19:25:27 +0000

Business continuity planning: A risk and responsibility shared by all sungjimi Wed, 03/06/2019 - 14:25

When Toronto was hit with record-breaking rainfall in the summer of 2013, ��Ƶ was not spared. Approximately 40 buildings on the downtown Toronto campus experienced significant flooding that resulted in $180,000 of damage.

“That flooding event helped focus us. We really do need to be more forward-looking and formalized in our business continuity planning,” said Scott Mabury, U of T’s vice-president of operations and real estate partnerships (OREP).

Business continuity is part of the emergency management cycle that connects the emergency response phase to the recovery phase. How do you resume operations in the event of an emergency? What are your division’s priorities when resources are limited? These questions – and more – are what a business continuity plan, or BCP, aims to answer.

In 2018, a BCP Committee was formed and tasked with the establishment and integration of central institutional plans. These plans facilitate the recovery of critical functions like services to provide security, food and shelter in the case of emergency. The committee also focused on ensuring services such as the campus alert system and payroll will continue to function no matter the event. Following the implementation of a central BCP, business units should plan to launch their own plan locally and simultaneously.

In an effort to encourage individual faculties and divisions to draft their own plans, and in collaboration with other institutional portfolios, OREP has set up an online business continuity planning hub. The website details the essential functions the institution is responsible for and includes guidelines and templates to help individual U of T divisions craft a BCP tailored to their needs.

“What we need as an institution in order to continue functioning in a short-term emergency scenario are things like building operations, power, central IT and payroll. Down to the local level, we’re leaving that up to the divisions to decide which piece they need to tap into,” said Mabury.

During an emergency, where the institutional BCP kicks in, business units should plan to launch their own plan locally and simultaneously with institutional operations, as appropriate.

“Where do the divisions intersect with central operations on their business continuity needs and where can we support each other?” said Elizabeth Cragg, director of office of the vice-president of operations and real estate partnerships. “It’s all about looking at the gaps in our existing BCPs and assessing how we can help each other fill those gaps, but the divisions have to be the ones to tell us what their needs and priorities are.”

Also included on the BCP website are examples of real incidents that affected other higher education institutions in Canada and the United States, which illustrate the wide variety of events that can impact a university. The list includes the 2003 SARS outbreak that claimed the lives of 44 people in Canada.

“Staff couldn’t get to work because they were ill, or because they were caring for others. Students in residence were ill and a long way from home and people’s movements were limited across the city” said Cragg. “The human side of things really impacts the university’s ability to do business on a regular basis.”

With that in mind, Mabury stressed the importance of forming a concise and simple BCP for each unit with feasible actions laid out, and with specific roles and responsibilities identified.

“Resilience is the main goal of creating business continuity plans,” he said.

“At the same time, we want everyone to have ownership over their plans so that they recognize that it’s their responsibility in whatever role they’re in. We’re all a part of this. This is everybody’s risk.”

Business continuity planning: A risk and responsibility shared by all

Boon Teak Lee, U of T's former chief engineer at the university's central steam plant, explains its operations on a student tour. Steam is delivered to many buildings across campus for heating spaces and making hot water. (Photo by Jon Horvatin)

Jenny Rodrigues

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Scott Mabury on his expanded role and U of T’s ambitious plan to pursue real estate opportunities and partnerships

Romi Levine — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 05:00:00 +0000

Scott Mabury on his expanded role and U of T’s ambitious plan to pursue real estate opportunities and partnerships

Romi Levine Fri, 03/01/2019 - 00:00

Cutline

"We plan to be here 100 years from now," says Scott Mabury, U of T's vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships. "This is a long-term strategy" (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Romi Levine

Topic

Our Community

University Operations

Scott Mabury has added a new portfolio – real estate partnerships – to his senior leadership role as vice-president, operations at the ��Ƶ. It reflects Mabury’s introduction of U of T’s “four corners” strategy to address the need for student and faculty housing, innovation space and other services on all three campuses.

“There are no examples that I’m aware of where an institution, with its own internal team, has been embarking on as ambitious a plan as we are,” Mabury says.

“I think that the addition of “real estate partnerships” to the portfolio title is a reflection both of the importance of the initiative and acknowledgment of the spectacularly talented group of staff who invest their creativity, their energy, and their passion in the operations portfolio.”

Mabury joined U of T in 1995 as the first faculty member in environmental chemistry. He chaired the department of chemistry from 2003 to 2009 and is currently a professor in the department and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

His new title is vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships. He also serves as vice-provost of academic operations.

U of T News spoke with Mabury about his new role and the ways the university will be addressing its development and sustainability goals over the coming years.

What will your new role entail?

It entails all the work and the activities of the old role of university operations but adds to it our “four corners” strategy.

I am continuing to support the provost on budgetary matters, overseeing and being responsible for information technology and cyber security, facilities and services on the downtown Toronto campus, ancillary services, and university planning, design and construction.

The four corners strategy is designed to provide a framework for how the university will pursue real estate opportunities and partnerships in the development of the full range of institutional and ancillary uses necessary for a modern university – innovation spaces, ancillary office, retail, student, faculty and staff housing – all of which are essential to support the academic mission of the university into the future.

We have significant assets. We spent a year studying those assets and what their opportunities could be. We recognize the very significant demand and need U of T has around providing more affordable residential options for our faculty, staff and students, and more innovation space for the burgeoning number of startup companies that wish to continue their development within the innovation ecosystem, of which U of T plays such an important part.

Scott Mabury on U of T projects in the works

New student residences on U of T’s downtown Toronto campus and U of T Scarborough: “I am very excited about the student residences we are going to be building because the need for residences is very, very high.”
The Landmark Project (which will pedestrianize King’s College Circle): “Retrieving and rehabilitating our historic core is an institutional, valuable thing to do.”
The tall wood building at Bloor and Devonshire Place: “It will bring a very public, very high-profile move by the university to incorporate wood as a building material that we should be looking at routinely for each of the buildings we'll be building.”
The innovation centre: “I think it will be a spectacular addition, not only to the architecture of Toronto, but also to the innovation ecosystem, of which U of T plays such an important part.”
U of T Mississauga science building: “That will be transformative for the ��Ƶ Mississauga.”

How unique is the four corners strategy compared to other institutions’ development initiatives?

Most other universities, when they embark on these things, create a separate development corporation apart from the university. The ��Ƶ and the four corners strategy is keeping the team and the effort “inside the house” as part of my portfolio. These will be ��Ƶ projects and initiatives.

The ��Ƶ will seek out partnerships and joint ventures to build things like student residences – which is what we're doing with the Daniels Corporation. We will acquire properties if there are opportunities that align with the university’s mission, and we will build innovation spaces and explore partnering opportunities where appropriate.

The beauty of keeping it “inside the house” is we can tap into expertise and resources such as facilities and services, our IT group, and our ancillary services group, to deliver the services that one would expect from a market rate, commercial enterprise.

We have 17 million square feet of space across the three campuses. As we build another million or two or three, we can expand our facilities management to incorporate those in a quite efficient manner and at less cost than if we were outsourcing or starting from scratch.

There are no examples that I'm aware of where an institution, with its own internal team, has embarked on as ambitious a plan as we are.

How will economic and environmental sustainability play into the four corners strategy?

Almost the entire university budget – 87 per cent – comes from students paying tuition fees or government operating grants. That’s not financially sustainable. We need to grow the remaining 13 per cent, to increase the resilience and sustainability of the institutional budget.

Developing our real estate assets – land that we own and will continue to own – will deliver a double bottom line: delivering amenity spaces – residential, innovation, retail – that benefit the academy with a financial return to further the core academic activities of the university. The objective here will be to generate revenue that we can invest back into the university’s academic mission.

On the environmental sustainability side, all of these buildings will be required to meet the ��Ƶ's design standards: attention to detail, the same attention to longevity, and the same attention to energy use – highly energy-efficient buildings. We have the most stringent energy guideline requirements for our buildings of any place in North America of which we are aware. These buildings will be university assets, and will be built to that standard.

U of T has a forward-looking approach to everything from innovation to financial and environmental sustainability. Why is it important for U of T to operate in this way?

We plan to be here 100 years from now. This is a long-term strategy. We are going to build buildings for current and future institutional needs, serve multiple functions and be repurpose-able in the future if need be.

We are in the talent business and we hear very clearly from the faculty and senior staff directly, and from students, that housing is an issue that they are thinking about. We need to deliver more housing. Our four corners strategy imagines something like 2,500 new units of housing – student, faculty and staff. Different kinds – laneway houses, midrise, highrise, in or on the ��Ƶ campus. The scale of that is really quite significant. It's pretty darn unique in the university world.

It is imagining how real estate can support and advance the ambitions that we have as a collective of faculty, staff and students to influence the state of the world and the future of the world for the positive. We're trying to bring value to the table.