About Defy Gravity: The Campaign for the University of Toronto
The largest university campaign in Canadian history will harness the power of our worldwide community, including 640,000 alumni, 95,000 students, and 23,000 faculty and staff, for the betterment of humanity.
From pioneering work in the humanities to the breakthrough development of neural networks, the University of Toronto has a long history of tackling the impossible and transforming society through the ingenuity of its faculty, students, and alumni.
In a world searching for positive change, we will build on this tradition to address some of the biggest challenges facing our city, country, and planet as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and grapple with this age of climate change, inequality, and mass technological disruption.
Through our commitment to inclusive excellence, we will bring together top minds from every conceivable background and discipline to lead pandemic recovery and enable healthy lives, build inclusive cities and societies, create a sustainable future, spark creativity and culture, drive scientific discovery, power bold innovation and entrepreneurship, and support student success as we educate the next generation of creative, engaged, and empathic citizens.
The campaign theme, Defy Gravity, reflects U of T’s history of advancing the frontiers of knowledge by transcending disciplines and borders in a diverse and inclusive community that emboldens students to think big—a community that accomplishes things no one else believed possible.